


The Sequence

by SavageTrauma



Category: B: The Beginning (Anime)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Cop Drama, F/M, Mystery, lily centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-05-16 15:17:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14813837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SavageTrauma/pseuds/SavageTrauma
Summary: After the events of season 1, the adrenaline rush of the case has run dry leaving Lily to face her trauma head on. Throwing herself into her work, Lily and the RIS follow a string of murderers that brings to light not just the dangers of the kingdom.





	1. Reinstatement

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first fic in a very long time! Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated if applicable. Enjoy!

# Reinstatement

## Prologue

It was difficult to believe that two weeks had passed since things had finally settled down. At first Lily was relieved; a few days of vacation seemed well deserved - for everyone - but the excitement quickly dissolved into something more sinister as time alone left her to her own device. Intrusive thoughts would trickle in like water through a cracked pipe, growing more and more frequent as time went on. Memories would creep in and take root in the most comforting places of her mind, tainting them until she found a way to distract herself once again. 

So Lily was excited to find that Commander Toga had approved her reinstatement into the RIS. Crime in Cremona hadn’t come to a stand still simply because she was required to take a few weeks vacation. She needed the distraction and what better distraction than working alongside her closest companions. 

On Monday Lily strode into the precinct earlier than she’d ever done before, stopping at the threshold of the office and taking a steady look at those who resided within. Only Boris and Brandon sat at their desks fifteen minutes to eight. They were oblivious to her, lost in whatever work they decided to start first thing in the morning.

Taking the first step into the office, Lily plastered a smile across her face as her heart fluttered with anticipation for what was to come. Boris, the first to always notice her, looked up at her with evident surprise before his mouth twisted into a pleasant smile. He set down the mornings news paper to reveal a half completed crossword section. 

“Well, what a surprise!” He said, breaking the silence with an aged chuckle. Brandon glanced up from his new laptop, hovering his fingers over the keys. Lily shifted her weight onto one hip as her lips spread into a wider grin.

“Morning to you too, Boris.” Lily replied, before closing the distance to her desk. Her eyes shifted to meet Brandon’s; he twisted in his desk to face her properly, his mouth opening as though to speak but Lily beat him to the chase. “Hey, how’re you feeling? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Brandon reached up and rubbed the back of his head, allowing himself to spin a full half circle in his spinning chair before answering. “Amazing considering. Been spending most of my time backing up my computer. I got this baby over the weekend!” 

Lily took her seat, smiling to herself as Brandon pushed open his laptop and twisted it for her to see. It was a nice, most definitely expensive, model and, true to Brandon form, it was already decorated with plenty of vinyl stickers. 

As Lily settled into her desk for the first time in two weeks she rambled on with Brandon about anything and everything, all the while the click, click, clicking of mechanical keys filled the office with ambient comfort. Much like the mumbles of Boris as he quietly finished his crossword, it was all familiar and welcomed.

About a half an hour later Mario and Kaela filtered in somewhat more quietly than Lily had. She knew she was loud but there was little she could, or cared, to do with how her voice carried in a small room. They greeted her warmly, Mario with a heavy hand clamped down on her shoulder and Kaela with a slightly devilish look. 

Lily tilted her head as Kaela made an off comment about Brandon’s laptop on her way to her “nest.” Lily flitted through her paperwork with a small smile as Brandon’s excited demeanor turned defensive under Kaela’s all-knowing nature. If there was anyone to impress with tech it would most definitely be Kaela, Lily supposed.

Glancing over at the two Lily watched as Brandon ran the tips of his fingers of the sharp edges of his laptop his gaze turned upwards as Kaela tutted and walked towards the door leading to her “nest.” Lily felt her breathing hitch as she followed his fingers. It drew her attention like an insect to a flame; she couldn’t look away nor could she shake the dreadful feeling that filled her. 

Icy white hands, a silver scalpel, and the terrifying inability to move no matter how hard she tried. It was as though she was there again, just as helpless and just as defiled as before. Her head had been turned so she could see his expressions as he spoke - as he touched her. The fear of what he had done and what he would do bubbled inside her, settling like black tar against her lungs; an all too familiar feeling. It was smothering and inescapable, making it hard to breathe; and, worst of all, she could remember that moment of lost faith - that maybe help wouldn’t come in time. 

Then, just like that, it was gone and Lily was left blinking away the lingering thoughts and her pounding heart as Kaela sauntered away and Brandon huffed to himself.

It wasn’t until Commander Eric Toga emerged from the hall with an accordian filer of paperwork under his arm that Lily was fully pulled back to the present. All eyes shifting to the doorway as Commander Toga’s gaze connected with hers. She recognized the unlying warmth hidden there, it was a small kindness but one that pushed away the a small part of whatever had a grip on her mind.

“Good morning everyone. I wanted to greet Keith and Lily on their first day back on the force. It’s good to have the team back together properly.” The commander stated from the doorway. “ Now more than ever we need you two. We’ll be starting our debrief in five.”

Lily chimed in her own “Yes sir” with the group before he turned and exited the office. It wasn’t until then as she turned back to face her desk that she caught her first glimpse of Keith leaning lazily against the wall by the main entrance, balled up fist pushed uncomfortably into his cheek as his too-long of legs stretched out into the walkway. 

How long had he been there? Lily certainly hadn’t noticed him when she first arrived nor had she heard his distinctively long strides following after Kaela and Mario.

Out of everyone at the office, Keith had been the one she’d spent the most time with during her vacation. They had a commonality that she couldn’t quite put into words; Lily just knew that she never really had to explain her presence. He would protest of course but he never actually kicked her out, especially since he took in Koku and Yuna. She imagined his life must seem a bustle with annoyances now. 

At some point during their break he’d stopped shaving leaving his facial hair to be almost as unruly as the frizzy hair on his head. It was subtle at first, nothing more than a shadow under his nose and on his cheeks, but now it’s entirely possible for him to lose small objects within the mess utop his head. Lily smiled lightly to herself, the idea of Keith losing his glasses to the mess enough to shake the last of the memory from her mind. 

Without another thought as to how or when Keith arrived, Lily took a deep breath before gathering her phone and her clipboard. She was ready for this meeting. By all the forces of good that somehow kept this family of hers safe over the last few months she was going to get working harder than ever before. 

With one last fleeting glance around the office, her gaze catching as the others readied themselves with idle conversations, Lily stood and lightly kicked the bottom of Keiths’ shoe just hard enough to awaken him from his stupor.


	2. The Assignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily finally gets her first assignment back at the RIS.

# The Assignment

“Kaela, pull it up on the screen.” The commander ordered followed by the brief clicking of long nails on keys before the blue tinted wall of screens shifted from low hue home display to a wide map of Cremona with colorful gradient overlays.

Lily listened attentively as the commander described the density of crime since the poisonous gas was released at the party about one and a half months ago. Commander Toga began the debriefing in a familiar and profound way; it was inexplicably comforting despite the worry that strained his posture. 

The gradient overlay singled out the color green to represent the general criminal activity throughout Cremona; of which Lily nodded along decidedly with the commander’s assertion that the numbers had gone mostly unfluctuating since the terrorist attack. 

Chewing the inside of her cheek, Lily watched as the commander’s expression shifted. The green gave way to a speckling of red that intensified as Kaela typed away at her keyboard. Bathing the room in a reddish glow. Lily’s heart dropped as she realized that they represented the violent serial crimes - those that fell within the RIS jurisdiction.

Without much explanation, it was evident that there had been an increase in violent, repetitive crimes since the terrorist attack. Pressing her lips together Lily closed her eyes. 

She saw Koku starting with that dangerous look in his otherworldly eye, his black wings bursting from his back as fire raged around her and Keith. She remembered looking up at him through the flames as Keith pressed her further down into the exposed stone. The awe - the disbelief as he took flight and ripped apart the blue haired boy. And then the fight, almost too fast to see yet unforgettable. 

All those Reggies… it can’t be a coincidence. She thought with a steady inward breath. Opening her again she met Marios’ gaze. He too seemed concerned, his square jaw set forward with tension. 

It had been a paltry wish that things would have returned to normal upon her reinstatement. 

“In the 47 days since the terrorist attack we’ve been collecting data to pinpoint the hotspots of serial violent activities. We are technically working alongside the precinct in the investigation of these crimes but, I will remind you, that the real threat is still out there. And, in some cases, among us.”

The commander paused as the screens shifted again. “We’ll need to be vigilant. Keith, you’ll be in charge over making sense of this data as it comes in; see if you can find any hot clusters.”

As though jerked by some unseen force, Keith lurched slightly before clearing his throat. Commander Toga tossed a manilla envelope on the desktop in front of Keith before leaning over to Mario and speaking under his breath. 

Lily let her gaze travel to Keith as he reached out lazily, poking the folder with dull curiosity before twisting his neck until it popped; the sound radiated loudly through the conference room.

“Gross.” She commented loud enough for him to hear, contorting her features once she was sure he’d see. He seemed generally unfazed by her act but Lily could read the twitch of his brow. She’d spent many days trying to make sense of his dull stare and typically aggravating antics; and, every once and a while, he made it easy for her.

A few months ago Keith was nothing more than some messy looking stranger with higher clearance than she felt comfortable with and, as Lily came to understand the weight he held in the eyes of those she respected, she knew he was going to aggravate her to no end. 

Only it was more than aggravation.

Watching him work was like looking into a mirror that twisted her features and turned her upside down; he was strange, purposefully annoying, and sometimes downright rude about his insights yet, if she thought on it long enough, made perfect sense. If not a bit convoluted and all together entirely too… Keith to be properly a reflection of herself. 

She wanted to understand him in a way that made sense to her; at some point that curiosity gave birth to an easy familiarity that settled over them in most situations. Strangest of it all was the constant reminder that she resembled his sister. Perhaps that’s why every once and awhile he’d look to her in an inexplicable way; one that must be rooted in some long held guilt and longing for a sister he could have saved. Either way, the mystery of it all sparked a new interest in decoding him - in getting past all that baggage that inexplicitly piled up between them.

Lily was quietly pleased when his deadpan gaze stuck to hers like glue as he twisted his neck the other direction until it resounded with a string of pops. Attempting to stick to the narrative that she was disgusted she exaggerated her features, unable to stop the edges of her lips twisting upwards as a shiver visibly crawled down Boris’ spine not ten feet away.

She could have sworn that, among the unkempt stubble, the smallest of smirks graced his face before he ripped open the manilla envelope and began filtering through the papers inside. 

“That’s hardly anything to go on.” Mario commented, drawing Lily’s attention back to the conversation at hand. Mario looked to the commander with a crunched brow. “Taking this at face value is the same as telling us to stay on high alert. It’s just a fancy way of saying that nothing should change but our anxiety levels. With all due respect, how do we expect this to help?”

Kaela stopped her rhythmic clicking of her keys, suddenly filling the room with dull taps as larger fingers pecked for letters and numbers at an incredible pace. Even Mario torn his gaze from the commander to watch as Keith wordlessly leaned over the keyboard. 

“Well,” Lily started, the oddness of the sight catching her off guard; she hadn’t even heard him get up from his chair, “this information is specifically about serial killers. Considering what we’ve learned about Reggies, if we start purposefully categorizing where the crimes take place - ” 

“Here.” Keith interrupted under his breath as he pressed a final key. The screen changed hues before darkening in three places. “We need to start focusing on that gold drug too. Where are their suppliers, where are the sellers, what time span can a Reggie go without access to the gold drug? We can compare the overlays.” 

Keith straightens to his full height, crossing his arms over his chest his gaze unwavering from the screens. Lily bit her cheek to stop herself from telling him off; the rudeness of his interjection settling on her like a warm fever, but she let it pass as best she could. Her first day back wasn’t the time to do that; he’ll get a free pass until her second day.

“How did you..?” Brandon trailed off, leaning in his seat before rolling over and flipping through the papers from the manilla envelope. Keith simply shrugged. Commander Toga cleared his throat.

“He’s Keith.” The commander closed the distance in two strides before swiping up the papers and the remains of the torn envelope. “And I don’t have to remind everyone that these conversations stay strictly within the RIS. We work independently until we can get to the bottom of this infiltration.”

“That’s a lot of overtime.” Kaela commented with a raised brow, tapping the toe of her high heels against the desk. “An eight man team isn’t much to work with, Eric.” 

“You’ve made do with less.” The commander replied before reaching into his coat pocket to reveal a small remote. He pointed it at the screen and clicked the single button, turning off the screens and simultaneously turning on the lights to the entire room. Lily flinched slightly from the change, feeling the oncoming of the pre-lunch lull as her stomach grumbled.

“Here’s your assignments; take them, go over them, you know the drill.” Commander Toga started as he picked up his accordian filer and began handing out folders. Lily’s fingers itched with anticipation.

Finally there was something for her to dive head first into. It felt as though a lifetime had passed in those two weeks and she was more than ready to start a new chapter of her life. No more dwelling on Dr. Gilbert Ross or any of his twisted mind games. 

But a folder was never passed to Lily and, for a devastating moment, she thought she would be left with nothing. That was, until her worried gaze caught Keith’s. He observed her from the corner of his eye, chin tilted upwards as he spun a folder against Kaelas’ table with one finger.

The relief she felt spread across her face plainly; she couldn’t help the smile that crawled from ear to ear.

\- - -

Keith and Lily sat together at a small table in the otherwise empty cafeteria. She was usually weirded out by spacious areas left barren; it was unsettling and usually all too quiet to leave her in a comfortable space but with the buzz of an assignment and her official partner across the table from her, Lily hardly noticed. 

Without the worry of prying eyes and ears, Keith flipped through the folder. The case they’d been put on had no special name, no crazy history, and no suspects; it was simply a string of murders and an odd circumstance. Sipping on her hot chocolate Lily hmmed to herself, her eyes scanning the page for new information that wasn’t there.

Keith seemed otherwise unimpressed by it all. Maybe it was the grandeur or the personal stakes of their last case that made it feel to be on another level of importance. Then again, Keith always stared with that dull interest and somewhat disheveled disposition. 

“Are you even listening to me?” She pushed, biting the inside of her cheek when he waved at her dismissively. 

“Wholeheartedly.” Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed before he sighed and straightened in his seat. “Their methods are a bit out there; two murders in a short amount of time yet there’s no obvious indicator that they’re related.”

“Other than the fact that they happened at the same park within hours of each other?”

“Yes, this all seems precautionary at best.” He replied, pushing out his long legs so that his chair tipped backwards. Lily wondered how many of the murders by Gilbert seemed coincidental; surely someone could have noticed a pattern if they’d thought to look beyond the tips of their noses. 

No, Lily thought to herself. It was more than fair for Commander Toga to be precautionary in calling these homicides related. A tightness in her chest caused Lily to hug herself for a moment, rubbing her arms as though to fight off some unfelt chill. She did not like the idea that there could be another Dr. Ross somewhere out there just starting his journey. 

“Hey.” Lily glanced over to Keith, her eyebrow quirking at the dull pressure of his hand flicking her arm multiple times; lightly, but enough to draw her attention, he made no movement to stop the incessant act. “You’ve been spacing out a lot more than usual.” When had he straightened himself in his chair?

Despite the finality of his statement Lily could read the underlying question there. She chose to ignore it with a nonchalant shrug, taking another sip of her drink only to find that it had cooled considerably. 

“I think I’m just a bit tired. Not really used to waking up this early after two weeks off.” It wasn’t really a lie, she never has considered herself a morning person, yet Keith seemed less than convinced. Maybe he’d been paying attention to her too; so much time spend on and off duty together, it seemed plausible. Or maybe she was just a horrific liar. 

“It’s not a big deal. I probably should have grabbed a coffee instead.” She continued when he didn’t respond, raising her hot chocolate half-heartedly. She couldn’t quite explain her need for him to believe her. There was an unlying panic deep within her that worried that if she shared her true thoughts then he’d be upset or angry. If their last case was anything to go off of, either emotion resulted in reclusiveness which Lily didn’t think she could handle right now. 

His head tilted to one side, his gaze sturdy as his finger continued to flick her arm rhythmically; as though to mark his thoughts or convince her to divulge something she had already decided that she would not. 

“But, anyway…” Lily started again, shifting herself to move her arm out of his reach. “Give me the info on one of the victims. I’ll start there; maybe see if there’s something the initial investigation missed.” Lily reached out for the folder and was somewhat surprised when he didn’t make a move to interfere. “You should take a look at the other victim.” 

“No, you’re more than capable to take care of both victims.” Lily watched as he stood, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. He looked around, his gaze seemingly dull and wavering but she knew the truth of his intents. He was being careful; she appreciated his tact in that moment. Not socially but when it came to his job he never really let his guard down.

“I suppose.” She’d be more annoyed if it wasn’t for the change of subject. “Then what exactly are you going to do?”

“East Bay Park.” 

Lily hmmed before forcing down the remainder of her cooled off beverage. She couldn’t help the noise of disgust as she tried to shake the odd taste from her mouth. They definitely used some cheap chocolate syrup in place of any proper chocolate mix; it showed its true colors once the heat dissipated.

Keith looked down at her with that same odd look across his face that she could never quite place; it was as though he found her both bothersome and amusing. 

“Fine.” She coughed out, glancing up at him before setting aside the cup of cold chocolate, decidedly giving up on it once and for all. “Then I should get on that.” Lily stood, brushing off non existent crumbs from the front of her shirt and jacket. “And what exactly are you going to at East Bay?” 

Just like that the look was gone. He turned away, walking with long strides towards the main entrance of the cafeteria. 

“Take a look around, I guess. You never know what they missed yesterday.” 

Lily gathered her things before following Keith back to the office in mutual, thoughtful silence. Her mind busied itself with thoughts of what to do next. She was determined to find the connection between the two victims if there was one to find. Her gut feeling was that this was something more than someone going on a rampage through East Bay Park and, if there’s no connection between the victims, then East Bay was the keystone element. 

A few minutes later Keith and Lily went their separate ways. Standing at her desk, Lily began packing away her case notes and phone when she felt a hand slap down on her shoulder. 

Glancing over she was pleased to see Boris; he smiled at her through his grey mustache.

“Lily! Just the person I was looking for. What’re your plans for lunch?” Lily hesitated, feeling her smile falter. She hadn’t considered eating a proper meal and, honestly, the idea of something heavy made her stomach heave. 

“Oh, I’m thinking of grabbing something small on the way out. Busy with the case and all!” She giggled in an attempt to displace the uncomfortable feeling that welled inside her. She wanted to go with Boris - it’d be nice - but now that she’s been given a task she couldn’t readily take a break, even for food. 

“Lilly,” He started again, using that tone that caused Lily to glance away, “that’s not like you to skip out on a great meal opportunity. I’ll leave you something in the fridge for when you get back.” He hesitated as though considering something before lowering his voice and continuing, “Let me know if you need anything. It’s been a long few weeks without you and I want to see that you’re taking care of yourself.”

Lily cracked a small smile despite herself. What he was saying was kind.

“I’d appreciate that, Boris. You know, my stomach's been a bit uneasy since yesterday. Maybe I’m just a bit nervous. I’ll definitely have a few bites when I get back!” 

With one last goodbye, Lily grabbed her belongings and pushed in her chair with her hip. Pushing through the office exit Lily caught sight of Commander Toga walking with quick pace down the hallway, urgency obvious in his posture and expression. Upon seeing Lily he waved her over.

“Got some news.” He started once he was within speaking distance of her. He didn’t stop walking as they crossed paths forcing Lily to about face and follow at a quickened pace. “Where’s Keith?” 

“Well, he’s on his way to East Bay Park to - ”

“That’s serendipitous. I need you to head over there as well.” Lily began to protest but was cut off by the commander with a sharp look. “There’s been another murder, another body’s been found at East Bay Park.”


	3. East Bay Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily heads to East Bay Park to investigate a new murder only to find another surprise that she was not expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! Been really busy as of late but I'm about halfway done with the chapter after this as well. I wanted to thank everyone for the kudos and Alyth3cat for the comment! It's truly given my the inspiration to put the final touches on this chapter.
> 
> Also:
> 
> slán leat - "goodbye"

#  East Bay Park

When Lily arrived at the scene of the crime she was met with the typical assortment of RPc, the Royal Police crime unit AKA the “labbies,” and yellow tape. She moves past them with a polite smile and greetings, heart beating in syncopated anticipation before ducking under the tape and observing the scene for the first time. 

East Bay Park has always been one of the more beautiful sights in Cremona; if Lily ever felt inclined to start dating again she’d silently hope to be taken to East Bay. It was cleanly, well kempt, and - usually - a very different pace than what her job had to offer. 

With sure steps, Lily listens as she was debriefed and led to point zero by a familiar RPc named Johannes Klein. Apparently Jane Doe was found about 20 minutes ago by a husband and wife during their bike ride through the park. Amongst the foliage and shrubbery, snagged between the trunk of a tree and the natural curve of the lawn rested an unmoving body.

She was young, maybe twenty years old, with matted blonde hair and pale skin. Her body was left contorted in the most unnatural of curves with one arm raised above her head, broken, and legs crossed over one another. Hovering over the Jane Doe was a stranger that looked up at Lily with an icy blue stare. 

Lily should have known that the position of coroner for the RIS would have to be refilled. She just hadn’t expected to see the same dead stare as Dr. Ross. Lily swallowed the ridiculous fear that rose in her chest before forcing herself forward.

“You must be Inspector Hoshina. It’s good to meet someone with likely competence.” The coroner said from her crouched position beside the body, the elegant yet intense lilt of her voice tinged by an unfamiliar accent. She waved with gloved hand before tilting her head to one side. “I’m Doctor Maeve Hynes and I’ll be replacing the late coroner.” 

Lily swallowed loudly before forcing a tight smile, her eyes scanning the new doctor with a somewhat nervous sharpness that Lily could not quite hide. Did she know what Gilbert did too all those people… to herself - what about to Keith? If she did, she showed no tender empathy or accusation; just the simple yet invasive stare of a pragmatic woman on the job, the spotlight of her singular interest turned on Lily for but a moment. 

“Of course, well it’s nice to meet you Dr. Hynes.” 

“Charmed.” 

Lily torn her gaze from the new coroner; looking to the surrounding area, she silently wondered what she had expected. Of course someone would have to replace Gilbert; she’d just hoped the newbie would be nothing like him. There’s an air about her - the cool, collected, and self assured tone didn’t help - that unsettled Lily.

Maybe this was unfair of Lily. She can’t assume Dr. Hynes will be anything like Dr. Ross. Right?

“Well, my partner should be here shortly, I’ll just take a look by myself until he arrives. Wouldn’t want you to have to debrief twice.” Lily let out an awkward laugh as she turned from Dr. Hynes. 

“That sounds grand, inspector.” Was all she heard in reply, her back already turned on the coroner. Lily knew it probably seemed rude, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to shake the tension that began to build within her. 

Lily most definitely felt off today.

For twenty minutes Lily busied herself at the crime scene; puttering between RPc labbies as they they gathered evidence, making herself useful she chatted with a few of the more familiar faces in hopes to discuss their insights from swabbing the other crime scenes. Despite herself, Lily couldn’t completely ignore the new coroner as she had hoped to; her shock of short red hair acted like a beacon among the greenery of the park.

When Keith finally managed to make his presence known she was shoulder deep in the hollow of a tree, three labbies watching on with muted looks of horror.

“Inspector, that’s not necessary…” Johannes mumbled uncertainly behind her. Lily pointed ignored him, overshadowing the rest of his sentence with a short string of curses under her breath. Damn her short arms. 

“I’m telling you, Han, it has to be here. Whatever it might be.” Lily all but growled at the bravest of the labbies. She didn’t need to look to know he still stood a few feet away, quietly waiting for her to give up. 

“I believe you, it’s just…” She could hear Han pause as though searching for the right words. Lily pushed further up onto her tippy toes, closing one eye as it pushed against the hard bark of the large tree. “This is part of our job description, let us assist you.” 

“You know what, Han - ” Lily started but was cut off as she felt something just at the tips of her fingers. “Oh!” With an unladylike grunt she pushed off the ground with both feet, giving herself just enough height to wrap her gloved fingers around the object before she stumbled away from the tree, her footing completely lost. 

Bracing for impact, Lily held tightly onto the item as she slammed into the lanky frame of someone who decided to stand entirely too close. 

“Ah-ha!” She exclaimed, holding up the object above her head as she leaned most of her weight backwards into the poor fool; but she didn’t care, Lily knew that would prove her efforts worth while.

As Lily brought the object closer into view within her gloved grasp her smile faded from her face. 

“Oh, Inspector Hoshina, let me take that.” Han interjected as Lily swallowed the bile that rose up and coated her throat. Han quickly moved forward and snatched the severed hand from her grasp, being quick to hide it from sight as he sought a baggie or other container to store it.

Frozen in place Lily closed her eyes and forced out a sharp breath; a shiver rolling down her spine set her back in motion as two hands rested on her shoulders from behind. She suddenly remembered that she was pressed against another. 

It took only a moment to register that the hands belonged to Keith, pushing her gently forward to right her. Spinning to face him, she knew her face was still drained of color, the triumph of earlier forgotten as well as her annoyance for her partner. 

“Something tells me that’s not what you thought was going to be in there.” He commented as she took a step back to stand a proper distance for conversation. Lily’s eyes darted past Keith, tracing the path on the ground as she ripped her gloves off.

“No, goodness no.” Tucking the gloves away, Lily found herself absentmindedly wiping her hands on her jacket as though to rid herself of that particular sensation. “There was a struggle here and, I thought at least, from the lines of blood it was possible that something flew in this direction. I just didn’t think… I thought it’d be a phone or something.” 

Looking up to him, Lily watched as his brow crunched together, his eyes scanning the ground around their feet before turning completely away from her to examine the space between the body and the tree. 

She supposed it was hard to tell at first. The dark evergreen coloration of the grass made it hard to follow the path but she had been sure of it. A streak of blood amongst the disturbed foliage got the wheels of her mind churning with ideas. 

“That’s a good hypothesis.” Keith mumbled under his breath, a thoughtful comment, one that Lily was unsure if she was even supposed to hear. “You didn’t notice that the body was missing a hand?” He asked, turning back to look at Lily, his voice raising to his normal strength. 

Lily felt her cheeks reddened, her color returning in full force. Mostly because she knew that, if she had allowed Dr. Hynes to debrief her, this whole embarrassing montage would have never happened. Instead of admitting her folly Lily puffed her pink cheeks before pushing past him.

“I would have, but I was a partner short.” 

She heard Keith grunt before following after her. Lily felt an irk of annoyance at how quickly he seemed to catch up with her; she was certain that by the time he was at her side her blush had not completely settled. 

If Dr. Hynes had any off handed comments to make about the entire exchange, she kept them to herself bar the sharp glance as they both approached and her single raised brow. Dr. Hynes stood with a regal refinement that struck Lily as incredibly poised for a woman with such long limbs. 

“Inspectors.” She greeted again, her gaze lazily finding Keiths’. Meeting his stare with even height Dr. Maeve Hynes was an even more intimidating sight than when Lily first spoke to her. “Jane Doe is early twenties, caucasian. Time of death is estimated to be around an hour ago; it is confirmed homicide of a most unscrupulous nature.” Dr. Hynes tilted her head downward to look at the body. “Multiple lacerations surrounded the joints of the shoulders and hips show signs of torture. Separation of the carpels is likely a result of these restraints and eventually… the severing of her hand.” Dr. Hynes shot a glance to Lily before continuing. “Cause of death appears to be a deep laceration of the femoral artery. That all being said, I’ll be able to give you both definitive result once I get her on my slab.” 

“Any personal effects?” Keith asked, his gaze turned upwards. At first Lily thought that his mind was lost in the skyline but then she followed his eyes as he traced the branches of the trees. She followed suit; the restraint wounds appeared to be of some form of rope, it was likely there’d be some evidence among the bough. 

“None, other than the remains of her clothes on her back.”

“A mugging then.” Lily murmured, her brow crunched as she craned her neck to get a better glimpse at a promising branch. 

“I concur.” Dr. Hynes agreed before letting out a indignant huff. “If that’s all, I’ll be letting the officers and lab rats finish their rounds. The slab should be prepared accordingly, of course.  
Slán leat.”

Lily waited until she was sure the doctor has turned away to sneak a glance at her again. She hadn’t recognized the language Dr. Hynes slipped into conversation but by her foreign accent, Lily was sure she wasn’t initially from Cremona. 

With long, elegant strides, Dr. Hynes strode out of view. Her boyish cropping of orangish red hair like fire against the pale skin at the nape of her neck. 

“We’ll have to call over a few of those labbies to get a good look at that.” She heard Keith say, drawing her attention back towards the present task. 

“On it… Hey Han!” She called out loudly, smirking as Keith flinched before shooting her an annoyed look. 

\- - -

Lily enjoyed East Bay, it was breathtaking and so absolutely large that she could walk for minutes without coming across another person. But, maybe that was the problem with this park. It had never really seemed dangerous before now. A part of Lily wished that something so beautiful could have been spared from the horrors that had recently entered her life.

Once Jane Doe was packed and shipped back to the coroners office and the RPc labbies had finished collecting the evidence they looked to Lily for further instruction. 

“Go ahead and pack it all up and take it to headquarters. See if we can extract anything from her clothes- Oh! And do me a favor, pull out the evidence boxes from yesterday’s crime scenes as well.” Followed by polite goodbyes, Lily found herself wistfully observing the quiet garden.

It was quiet and secluded, romantic even; a stretch of curved grassy path tangled between the swell of a hill and a grove of dark colored trees. Sprigs of color marked the brush beneath the trees and beside a concrete bench overlooking it all; the covering of leaves shaded the area, making it small and intimate. Nearly forty feet away Lily could just barely make out the bike path where the couple had caught their first glimpse of their Jane Doe number three.

“Were the other crime scenes like this?” Lily asked, her voice sounding all too loud for the quaint space. Somewhere behind her she heard Keith shift. 

“Green? Yes, I’d imagine so.” Her brow irking she felt the serenity of the space begin to lose its magic., dragging her back down to the present and out of the clouds. 

“Wonderful deduction. You’ve been to the other crime scenes, right? Did they look anything like this?” Turning to face him she recognized the mix of confusion and gentle annoyance that crossed his features. He really didn’t understand what she was getting at.

“You know…” Lily made a sweeping motion with her arms with some hope that she wouldn’t have to come out and say it. “This isn’t exactly the play structure or duck pond.” Keith pondered for a moment before shrugging.

“Isolated? I’d say so. Definitely means that there’s at least some forethought to this mess.” Lily pursed her lips before lazily taking a few steps in his direction. It’s possible he simply didn’t see this place in the same light as she did.

“Well yeah, but I mean it’s… It’s a bit romantic, Keith.” His eyes darted back to hers with a look of sheer surprise at an idea completely unconsidered before then. “Think about it: it’s intimate and isolated, sure, but if they were to sit here and gaze this way…” 

Lily plopped down on the bench and looked forward between the slightly curved trunks of the trees. She smiled to herself at the sight; despite the situation it was a soft scene that made her wish for a shoulder to lean on and an arm to grasp onto. “Look, I bet the sun peeks right through there in the morning.” 

Perhaps she had allowed too much warmth to creep into her voice, there was a distant worry that Keith would take her for a hopeless romantic but it was quickly drowned out by the realization that he’d humored her. 

Standing beside her, Keith faced the grove. Hands stuffed into his pockets she couldn’t help but watch his expression as he took in the sight before them. Call it her curiosity, but she wanted to know what he was thinking. He most likely couldn’t see past his nose when it came to something like this but, then again, Lily didn’t blame him. 

“Do you think they were a couple?” Keith asked after a moment, breaking the silence with a voice seemingly lower in regester than usual. Lily bit her lip.

“It’s possible but it could be just as likely that she was brought here because it was simply isolated.” Keith made a noise of agreement before a silence settled between them.

It was nice, just sitting and allowing herself to enjoy the breeze of the late morning without worry of interruption. It was tranquil and soothing and, from what she could tell, enjoyable to her partner as well. That was, until she remembered what they were supposed to be doing. A frown pulled at her lips as her eyes dragged across the dark stains of blood that marred the foliage just a few paces away.

“What a waste.” She mumbled before standing and stretching her arms, her left one was still sore for overextending it earlier. 

“I’m sure there’s other spots like this.” He offered lightly, a mumble meant for no other. 

“Probably.” She replied a bit breathily, allowing half a sigh of remorse to slip though. “Let’s go then, I want to take a look at the three evidence boxes and compare them.” 

Keith nodded in agreement, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. “I’ll make a few phone calls. See if we can get any useful footage from park security.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm rewatching the series and making notes to try and get the details of the world just right. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions! Much love~


	4. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Returning from East Bay Park, Lily makes a point to compare the evidence from the three crime scenes.

# Silence

The twenty five minute car ride from East Bay Park to the precinct was filled with Lily’s voice. She knew that Keith reveled in the silence that sometimes passed between them but she felt absolutely inspired to crack this case. 

If Jane Doe 3 and the perp were a romantic couple it was possible the other two women were also on a date with the murderer before things took a turn for the worse. If/when the DNA or fingerprints come through... The first two murders would have had to been a quick turn around; there were a lot of unknown variables but this could easily add up to be a serial killer with calculated means and targets. Perhaps even Jane Doe 2 was unlucky enough to stumble on the first murder - 

“Lily. Please.” Lily tore her gaze from the road to watch as Keith, with his knees by his ears, cover his face in his hand. “I can’t hear myself think.” 

“Oh… right.” She clamped her mouth shut, feeling the warmth rise within her. Perhaps she was ruining his ability to process the case; Lily needed to speak aloud for things to come together but she’d never really heard Keith do the same. Puffing out her cheek Lily allowed herself to simmer with the thought that if Keith wanted silence then maybe he shouldn’t be so willing to carpool with her everywhere they go. 

Nonetheless Lily granted him his silence for the short remainder of their drive. 

Eyes trained on the road in front of them it wasn’t until she descended into the precinct underground parking lot that her embarrassment washed away. 

It was strange - uncontrollable even. Walking away from her car and towards the elevator, Lily’s mind wandered to Bran and how close they’d been to losing him not that long ago. 

With a small frown Lily considered inviting him out for lunch sometime soon. They’d both been through a lot and maybe it’d do him some good to just… talk. In the silent elevator ride to the ground floor of the precinct, some faraway part of Lily considered that it might be more than Bran who needs a confidant in all this. 

Scooting through the short hall before flashing their badges at the familiar security guards, Dominic and Claire, Lily and Keith pushed forward unto evidence lock up. 

Evidence lock up was on the second floor several corridors from the main entrance. It was a long, quiet walk as she absently tried to keep up with Keith; finding that she always ended up a few paces behind him unless she added a bit of a skip to her step. 

It wasn’t until they emerged from the elevator down the hall from evidence that Keith broke the silence by releasing a heavy sigh, one that spoke to exasperation; though due to what, Lily was unsure. It pulled her out of her thoughts as they continued through the familiar line of offices and hallways of the Royal Police headquarters. 

“They’re all good points.” Lily scrunched her face before glancing up towards Keith but he pointedly would not return her gaze. He seemed to have nothing more to add, leaving the conversation to dissipate into more silence. Brows crunched, it wasn’t until Keith reached out to input his code in the heavy door that Lily realized what he was referring to.

“Thanks,” She hesitated, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She wondered if he felt obliged to comment positively; some guilt for snapping at her in the car, “it’s nothing too special, honestly. I just made the obvious connections. I was just thinking out loud, you know?”

“Obvious to us, maybe.” He offered lightly. When he caught her perplexed gaze he added: “Not so much to other people.” The electronic wiring around the door hummed audible before the lock was released, a small green bar of light indicating that they could enter. Keith pushed through, throwing it open for Lily to catch. 

Her steps faltered, tripping over some non existent crack in the walkway - or maybe it was her tact. She looked to him, stunned despite his straightforward cadence.

A comparison between them where he didn’t call her some form of a fool? Earth breaking. 

Lily has always known that she has a knack for her job but to hear another - Keith of all people - say it was… something else entirely. Who would have thought that he’d think someone so bothersome was in the same category as himself? Whatever category that might be. 

The door clicked shut with a resounding bang of metal on metal before the small red light persisted once again. 

“Shit.” Lily mumbled as she quickly typed in her code, her cheeks warming as the humm sounded and the red light turned green. Throwing open the heavy door Lily pointed ignored Keiths raised brow as she entered; eyes immediately scanning the room for anything that might have been left for her her gaze quickly fell on a grouping of boxes. Lily crossed the room, passing Keith and many locked containers, before taking up the handwritten note - by Han no doubt - and pulling open the top of the first evidence box.

Lily lost track of Keith the moment she began unboxing the contents of the crime scenes, wasting no time. She scrutinized each picture and baggie with keen eyes before deciding its place among the rest. 

It was a sort of organized chaos, not like Keith’s mathematic precision or Kaela’s messy computer set up that granted her office the nickname of “the nest.” No, her organized chaos was filled with invisible threads that tied people and things to each other. Similarities and differences sung clear as day when she looked at the cacophony of baggies and pictures, it was just a matter of what thread was most important, what detail was the keystone that held the rest in place. 

Some time during her digging she became vaguely aware that Keiths’ phone vibrated in his pocket. She tried not to be too nosey. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye she slowed her pace as he scratched his beard and exchanged an agitated yet polite greeting.

“Yes we appreciate it, Ranger. Send them as soon as you can to…” He paused, the soft mumbles of another voice just beyond her hearing. Keith sighed breathily, closing his eyes for a moment before continuing. “No, because that’s what they’re there for. Consider this me not caring about whatever excuse you were about to give... yes, because it’s my job to get things done and it’s yours to comply. Just get it to the station by tonight.” The voice responded again briefly. “Tonight. For Inspector Mario Zurita.” 

He seemed annoyed as he shoved his phone back into his trousers, his tone taking on an edge that made Lily’s brow raise. Were the park rangers not fully complying with the investigation? Surely getting this mystery solved as quickly as possible would be most beneficial to them. 

As though reading her thoughts, Keith turned away from Lily’s table of evidence head tilted upwards as he lazily strolled around the modular room. 

“They’re having a bit of tech issues with the security systems. Apparently they’re just as incopendant there as the RP tech support can be.” 

“Don’t let Kaela hear you say that.” Lily warned. That earned her a backwards glance.

“Please, she a one woman agency with anger issues but at least she always gets things done.” He paused, his gaze drifting for a moment before he continued. “Do you think she’d be able to fix whatever problem they’re having?” 

Lily knew the real question he was asking; of course she’d be able to, it was whether it’d be worth asking her the favor; assuming that they’re actually suffering from a tech issue and not a sudden disregard for the chain of command. Biting the inside of her cheek Lily turned back to the evidence, absently smoothing out one of the plastic evidence bags.

Glancing over her shoulder, Lily watched as Keith leaned against one of the cabinets holding labeled boxes of evidence, his gaze set upwards. He was thinking, quite earnestly; his brows crunched together as his glasses slid down the length of his nose. 

Lily didn’t know the details of what the park rangers said was to be the problem but it was probably better off letting Keith handle that. Plus, what was the point of involving Mario? Probably so he wouldn’t have to deal with the paperwork if things escalated. 

Letting out a short breath of air, pushing away the hair that had fallen in her face, Lily considered Mario’s strengths that Keith may be hoping to utilize: a physical strength for sure but also a heartiness - a hard headedness - that Lily had also appreciated about her friend. It was possible that whatever courier the park rangers sent was about to get an earful to bring back to their bosses. 

Either way she had work of her own to do. 

Setting her sights and her focus back on the three boxes of evidence, Lily huffed out a harsh breath of air. Reaching into her jacket pocket she pulled out her field notebook and pen, flipping it open to a fresh page.

\- - -

Sunday  
_JD 1_  
Approx. 26 years old, dark hair and eyes. 5’10 158 lbs  
DNA evidence from under fingernails was gathered, results: TBD  
DNA identification, fingerprints: TBD  
Personal Effects:  
Black hoodie (ripped sleeve, bloodied), jogger racer shirt (bloodied), jogging leggings, underwear, prescription glasses (high magnification), three bangle accessories (two broken found off body)  
Location:  
South-east East Bay Park. (2 miles east and ¼ mile south to center of park)  
_JD 2_  
Approx. 32 years old, brown hair and blue eyes. 5’4” 110 lbs  
DNA evidence, semen: TBD  
DNA identification, fingerprints: TBD  
Personal Effects:  
Grey and yellow dress, underwear (discarded and found off body), shoes (missing?)  
Location:  
South-east East Bay Park. (23 minute walk south of JD 1)  
Monday  
_JD 3_  
Approx. 20 years old, blonde hair and hazel eyes. 5’9” 166lbs  
DNA evidence, fingerprints: TBD  
DNA identification...

Lily stopped, her gloved hand hovering over the newly opened bag of clothing. Her gaze lingered on the ruined vestments of Jane Doe 3; utterly unassuming, it contained a simple T-shirt and jeans and an unmatching pair of womens underwear yet something about it caused Lily pause. 

Placing her field notebook on the table, Lily began pulling out the clothing; a few moments passed as Lily turned all pockets inside out and unfolding every crease of the shirt and jeans until something edged brushed against her fingertips. 

Moving the shirt aside, Lily snaked her hands around the straps of the bra before wrapping her fingers around the plastic rectangle glued to the soft material of the bra by dried blood. 

“Holy cow…” Wiping away the flakes of carmine the image of a familiar face - one not so mistreated - smiling at the camera with a beautiful, young smile and pristine, curled blonde hair. Pressing her finger to the surface with a bit more vigor, Lily felt her heart begin to flutter. “Alice De Fiore.” 

Pairing a name to the deceased never really felt… good. Seeing a picture of someone no longer with this world always left a phantom ache, an empathetic shadow of something that would never be again. 

“One step closer, Alice.” Lily murmured to nothing. Glancing over her shoulder Lily remembered that Keith had stepped away to take another phone call, mumbling something about catching Mario before it got too late. 

Glancing at the time on her phone Lily was surprised to see that it was nearly 6:00pm. She swore that Keith had left only ten minutes before but in reality it had been much longer.

Letting out a quick breath, Lily began sorting away her controlled chaos before finding a new bag to store the ID card, cash, and credit card she’d discovered. Within 5 minutes Lily found herself walking with a quickened pace towards the RIS bullpen notebook and case folder pressed against her chest.

Entering the office space Lily went to her desk, taking out a pen to properly fill out the days findings into the case file. Leaning over her desk she couldn’t quite bring herself to sit as she updated the information. 

She wrote and wrote taking care to include every last detail until she ran out of things to write. Standing up to her full height her back cracked as she glanced over the four full pages of notes she’d just added to the case file. Commander Toga was going to hate that when he got around to reviewing it. 

The sound of her phone ringing made Lily jump, she answered it quickly unable to quell the speedy beating of her heart. “Hello?”

“Hello Lily.” Greeted the familiar female, somewhat monotone, voice. 

“Oh! Yuna wow you’re actually using the phone we got you!” Lily exclaimed, her rapidly beating heart masked over by her inescapable smile. I’d been a few days since she’d last seen or heard from Yuna. 

“Well, yes, it was a kind gift.” There was a pause as she spoke away from the phone her soft voice hard to hear, before returning. “Would you like to come over tonight? I’d like to hear how your work went today.” Lily’s eyes widened and she replied without hesitation.

“Of course, I’d love that! I’ll head over once I finish up here.” Yuna’s voice carried her smile over the distance as they said their goodbyes. Standing over her desk with her phone in hand Lily allowed herself to release the heaviness from her shoulders with a sigh. That heaviness accumulated from seemingly nothing; it wasn’t until she realized that she didn’t have to be alone once again, that she felt relieved. 

Twisting herself to release the pressure in her back from leaning over her desk his back cracked loudly before she gathered her belongings. 

“Sure, you can do it and it’s fine, but I do it once...” Twirling around Lily was met with the familiar lazy stare from the doorway. Tucked under his arm, Keith held a rather large brown box labeled with Marios’ name. 

“Oh, that? I was joking.” She offered with a small smirk. “At least when I did it it didn’t look like I was snapping my own neck.” He snorted but otherwise left the topic to rest. 

“A courier just dropped these off.” He shrugged his shoulder of the arm that held the box. “Only took three more phone calls and a thinly veiled threat to actually get these tonight. Idiots.” He trailed off in mumble as he glanced around the otherwise empty room from behind his glasses. 

“Well, hard earned then. Hopefully it’s something worth watching.” He huffed again as he pushed off the open threshold. 

“More like somethings. They handed over about ten tapes.”

 

“ _Tapes??_ ” Lily watched as Keith tilted the box at a downwards angle to reveal the black rectangles of her childhood. “You’ve got to be joking. The VHS player keeled over two months before you rejoined the force.” 

The both stood in silence glaring at the old form technology before Keith cursed under his breath. “Well, shit.” 

Lily frowned, moving away from her desk, and that particular problem, heading towards the shared refrigerator before throwing it open. She rummaged through the sparse contents before finding the small box with her name written in dark pen and retrieving it. 

“I might have one in my storage.” He added thoughtfully as Lily reemerged from the refrigerator. 

“Great, then we can watch them tonight.” The scowl he gave her could have curdled milk on the spot but Lily has danced this dance with him before. She looked to him with the most innocent smile she could muster before adding: “Yuna invited me over tonight, hope that’s alright.”

“No, you don’t liv-”

“Perfect! “ Lily exclaimed with a widening smile, leaning over her desk one last time to take up her belongings. “I can drive you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slow yet steady, I'm working to write and then edit these chapters at a healthy pace! Took an extra day for this chapter since yesterday was my (and my husbands) 1 year anniversary :D
> 
> Anyway, I'm enjoying writing these, it's just a matter of learning when to stop. Thanks for reading!


	5. A Late Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily joins Yuna, Koku, and Keith at the apartment for some much needed relaxation and to solve their current issue: old technology and Keith's disregard for things he doesn't use any more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Just a few notes before you read on:
> 
> \- My undergrad in college was anthropology (and I still love it) but figured I'd sprinkle some of my knowledge into this fic.  
> \- I sort of assume Yuna and Koku are in their early 20's cannonically but I don't remember if that's confirmed... So, they are here!

# A Late Evening

### Chapter 5

With clumsy fingers Lily ripped the VHS tape from its cartridge, a gasp escaping her lips at the horrendous noise of film resisting against plastic. It was a terrible sound and although her goal was to dislodge Keiths’ VHS tape from its player she had wanted to do so with minimal casualties; whether that be the player or the tape itself. 

With inflamed fingertips and a frustrated sigh she looked over the glossy film and entrance of the player. Despite herself - and Keith, for that matter - she couldn’t help but think of how it was somewhat cathartic. The destruction of someone else’s property, whether it be purposeful or not, felt vaguely relieving.

Albeit, counterproductive to the VHS player coming out of the situation in one piece, but she’ll figure something out if worse comes to worse. 

Lily cursed to herself as she reached back into it and tried to force the broken cartridge from the VHS player, the tips of her fingers burning; pressing her other hand on the hard plastic Lily found herself once again singularly focused to remove it from its resting place. 

Lily’s fingers slipped from their place, her grip lost and her momentum suddenly forced backwards. With a loud grunt, she shook her newly freed hand.

“If your goal is to destroy it, I can help with that.” Glaring over at her friend, Lily caught Koku’s mismatched gaze. Hair grown longer than before and disposition all together more… relaxed and happy, Lily still found it within herself to maintain her scowl. 

“I’m trying to get the tape out _without_ destroying the player.” Lily explained. She placed the bulky VHS player on the couch beside her, absently rubbing her fingers together. “Apparently Genius over here managed to get an old VHS stuck in it. And then he just left it.” 

“I didn’t even know he had that thing.” Koku mumbled, his gaze traveling from Lily to the machine. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just buy a new one?” 

“But then you’d be giving up, right?” Lily looked to see Yuna, her long pale pink hair tied back from her face and wardrobe for the day exchanged for a comfy pair of sweatpants and a baggie shirt. 

The truth of Yuna’s observation struck Lily with a small note of pride that, in turn, bolstered her resolve on the matter.

“Yes, Yuna.” Lily responded, her fingers not quite burning as much as before. “And I can’t be defeated by a stupid, out-of-date machine.” 

She gave Koku the benefit of the doubt when his brow raised despite her.

“Hey Koku!” All heads twisted and tilted to look through the opening into the kitchen of Keith’s apartment. Leaning back so his glare could be seen by all, Keith’s annoyance rested on Lily before shifting towards his true quarry. “Get over here if you want to help.”

Koku shot Yuna a glance before making his way towards the kitchen. Koku stayed silent as Keith tossed a bundled apron towards him, mumbling under his breath: “It’s amazing that you’ve survived this long without properly being able to cook rice.” 

“Why do I even need this?” Koku questioned before throwing it over his head and diving into full a fledged discussion on the subject. 

Despite his comments and glowering looks, Lily felt a smile pull at her lips as she watched after them. 

It was easy enough for her to recognize the attachment Keith had grown to Koku and then sequentially Yuna but of all things she hadn’t expected to see Keith offering Koku a place in his kitchen. Donning an apron or otherwise.

Yuna strode to Lily’s side before seating herself in Koku’s old space, dragging Lily’s attention from the boys and the rice cooker. Her hands reaching out, palms up she pointed with her chin. “Let me try.” 

\- - -

Caught it a fit of giggles, Lilly threw her head back and snorted; eyes watering and cheeks hurting, she couldn’t form the words that wished to be articulated, her lips frozen by the state of her. Yuna sat in shock, the sound of Lily’s laughter filling the common space of Keith’s apartment for two ticks of the clock before she too couldn’t contain the mirth that bubbled within her. 

Breathing heavily, Lily opened her eyes and wiped beneath them, her breath still hitched and her face warm. “Are you okay?” She asked after her companion, the smile not completely wiped from her face nor the amusement from her voice. 

Yuna mirrored Lily as she brought the tips of her fingers to her eyes smiled brightly before nodding; her other hand reached up and pulled the fragments of busted plastic from her hair. 

“I think I - ”

 

Both looked down to see the fractured VHS cartridge scattered across their laps and on the floor around them. Wits regained, Lily reaches for the VHS player to begin inspecting it. 

“You definitely did.” Lily muttered, her finger running over the chipped entrance of the machine. It was damaged, the opening cracked in two places the damage disappearing into the dark insides of the machine. Still, looking it over with her scrutinizing gaze Lily thought it had survived in relatively one piece. Glancing around the common space Lily considered finding a flashlight or something to examine the inside.

A sense of being watched washed over Lily, her gaze raised to the opening between the kitchen and living room to catch Keith’s momentary stare. Koku was speaking to him, wiping his hands on the apron yet Keith’s eyes held hers for moments longer than she expected. 

There was always a reason when it came to Keith. 

No action wasted, no word squandered, no moment left to rot; yet here he stood simply watching her for a fleeting moment with nothing to gain but time left idle. To his part it was brief, a few seconds with her before turning back to Koku, his expression immediately reforming to fit his typical cadence. 

“Lily?” Her head twisted to face Yuna at the sound of her name, smiling when confronted by her friend. “Shall we plug it in and see?” Lily paused, her gaze flicking back to the machine for a moment before she responded.

“You know what… yeah, let’s just try that. What’s the worst that could happen?” 

With all certainty in their handiwork, Lily and Yuna set up the VHS player near Keith’s television before reaching into the packing box to retrieve the first VHS from the pile. It took a bit of finagling but Lily managed to force the tape through the entrance, sliding it in until the mechanism drew it from her fingertips. 

The player made a horrible grinding sound of spinning plastic searching for purchase, sounding for a few seconds before falling silent. Their faces fell as the television remained black.

“Let it rest for a moment.” Koku commented, shedding the apron as Keith set out a few bowls with care. Lily frowned but nodded; resting her hand on Yuna’s shoulder in solidarity they joined the others for what Lily could only imagine to be another form of gumbo. 

Sitting across from Keith and beside Koku, the disappointment of the broken VHS player disappeared with the first whiff of the spiced gumbo. Mouth watering, Lily hadn’t realized how hungry she had become; had she really not eaten all day today? She recalled Boris’ worry and his leftover lunch in Keiths’ fridge and it took only a moment of thanks thrown to Koku and Keith before her singular focus was turned on her meal. 

The first few moments were silent bar the clinking of utensils against their bowls, but it wasn’t long before Lily sought to fill the void.

“I identified Jane Doe 3 while you were gone today, her name’s Alice De Fiore. Tomorrow I’ll make up a proper report to get into contact with next of kin.” Keith _hmm_ ed to himself, chewing his bite as though to savor it. “They might be able to give us some insight to connect to the others if the DNA results are inconclusive.” 

“A good start but that lead will likely end there. Her murder is unrelated to the others.” Lily frowned, her eyes leveling to meet his as she chewed a rather large bite of food. Keith seemed to understand the unsaid question and continued; “The means are too different, no connection. I’m sure you saw it in the evidence too.” 

Keith hesitated to continue, whatever else he wanted to add pulled to a halt as his gaze darted to Koku over the rim of his glasses. 

Sitting with straight back and calm demeanor Koku’s eyes were anything but calm. Lily watched him out of the corner of her eye, unsure of what to make of the hesitancy Keith displayed.

It took all of Lily’s wisdom to remind herself that Koku was not a typical person - or even a _human_ technically. Yuna too. They were something else entirely; trained and created to be something more, it had been explained to her once before but in all her years of working with RIS she’d never had a mind to unpack the kind of things she’d seen him do.

“Is there a possibility that… Market Maker is involved?” Koku asked with a hesitancy that did not match the sharpness of his gaze in that moment. Keith considered Koku before returning to his gumbo. 

“Don’t know.” Keith sounded thoughtful as he took another bite. 

“It’d be stupid to not consider it as an option.” Lily offered, running her finger around the edge of her bowl to pick up the dribble of sauce she’d dropped on the rim. “I’m pretty sure Mario is heading the investigation on the gold drug. It might be worth asking him if there’s any information on it surrounding East Cremona.” 

The way that Yuna fidgeted in her seat didn’t go unnoticed. She had seen the worst of it all, Lily remembered the small details Koku had dropped when she was first granted her leave. He’d been worried, understandably so, that despite her palpable happiness to be away from it all her guilt - or maybe it was shame - still lingered. 

Yuna was strong but sometimes deep wounds need more than just time to heal. For all her demons - despite Lily only having a good understanding of some of it - Lily knew Yuna wasn’t like the rest of those Market Maker hooligans that Koku took care of. 

No, she was going to nip this conversation in the bud. Her and Keith would have all the time in the world to consider this later. It’s hard enough being in her early 20’s with no real proper history of existing, Lily didn’t think that reminding her of something so freshly ripped from the wound was healthy.

Hell, hadn’t Yuna almost died too? 

“Hey Yuna, how was the tour today?” Yuna seemed surprised by the change of subject, her head tilting slightly Lily met her gaze with a light smile. As though waking her from a distant thought, Yuna retook her utensil and began mixing her gumbo.

“It was fine, I’d been to the library before with Koku but never into those rooms upstairs. It seems… nice,” Yuna’s lip quirked downwards as though remembering something, “they said I can start once the tuition clears the bank. Most likely sometime next week.”

Lily smiled, retaking her utensil before preparing another bite of her own food; she was a bit disappointed to see that she was nearly finished. “It’ll be nice there. I took a few night classes there before I started at the academy.” 

“Boris mentioned that.” Keith commented to Lily’s surprise. “What were you hoping to study between violin reconstruction and working for the Royal Police?” 

It was difficult to describe the feeling that swept over her; a sort of embarrassment or maybe an aversion to the limelight when it came to that topic. Glancing away Lily bolstered herself by taking one of the last few bites of her meal. For Yuna, right? “Yes, I’m most definitely curious as well.” Yuna chimed in, seemingly unaware of the war of emotions that ran through Lily in that moment. 

Chewing slowly, Lily smiled sheepishly before swallowing; a silent plea left unnoticed by her companions. “I took a few courses in anthropology; nothing too special. There were so many choices I couldn’t really decide what I wanted to I starting with linguistics. That was interesting but lacked something I couldn’t quite place; and then there was archaeology which - don’t let it fool you - was more about petrified grain than dinosaur remains most of the time. Too slow for my pace.” 

“Anthropology?” Keith repeated more thoughtfully than Lily had expected. “What’d you hope to accomplish with that?” Lily was sure that Keith didn’t mean to sound so curt but she couldn’t help the defensiveness that rose within her. 

“I appreciated its thoughts on the human condition. I was looking for something, I didn’t really know what but I respected the mystery of understanding… people.” Lily placed her utensil in her bowl as gently as possible before standing and bracing herself on the table to look closely at Keith; a silent act of defiance and bolstered defenses for any snarky comment he might make. 

“Then why not psychology or sociology or something other theoretical discipline?” His tone was all too cruel - it was as though he sought to undermine it somehow. It’d been years since Lily had thought of the topic but she still respected it even if it hadn’t turned out to be the right choice for her. This time, Lily did not quell the annoyance that reddened her cheeks.

“They each look through a different lens; some ask why, others ask how but in the end anthropology just called to me.” Lily paused, watching as Keith stood his full height, very quickly rising above her, his brow pressed down and his forehead scrunched.

“Maybe it was the first one you saw on the list, alphabetical order must be the bane of the zoology major.” It was all too possible that Keith simply enjoyed this form of confrontation - at least when it came to Lily. 

“Soft science nonetheless;” Keith continued, brow raising as he looked over Lily’s expression, “it’s always interesting to see what people default to.” With an unladylike growl and legs that seemed to carry her of their own free will, Lily felt as she rounded the table, chasing after Keith as he took his bowl to the sink. She hadn’t realized she’d taken up her slipper from her foot until she tossed it at him. 

It missed Keith’s head by a few inches, tilting himself out of the way the slipper tumbled through the air before smacking into the VHS player. All eyes followed the slipper as it landed near silently on the rug in front of the television.

A distinctive whirring sound rumbled from the common space before the television clicked on to reveal greyscale CCTV footage of one of the many entrances to East Bay Park.

Silence.

Then suddenly Yuna’s laughter filled the kitchen followed by the chuckles of Koku, covered up by his hand over his mouth and fake coughs. Eyes wide Lily gaped past Keith to watch as the tape flickered but persisted to play.

“You could have hit me!” Keith grumbled loudly, his brows pulled together.

“Well, that was a warning shot.” Lily replied as the annoyance drained away at the absurdity of it all. Even Keith’s glare held no real heat to it. “It’s not kind to question people’s interests like that.” She added under her breath.

Keith turned his back on her, twisting the faucet before rising out his bowl. He seemed uninclined to reply but it hardly bothered Lily any longer. Swiping her finished bowl from the table she placed it in the sink beside Keith. Bumping him away from the soap Lily used her smaller frame, without much resistance from him, to take the bowl from his grip and begin cleaning. 

“I took a few psychology course a few years back.” He offered lowly, almost as though to hide his words beneath the sound of the running water. He took a step to the side, giving Lily a small amount of space before continuing; “It was recommended to me but there was always an aspect of it that left me wishing for a more conclusive understanding.” 

Lily begun cleaning the bowls, her gaze flicking to meet his. “Like no matter how much research there was or how many experts in this-or-that thought _blah blah_ it never quite felt finished?” 

With a single raised brow Keith nodded. He waited for her to finish the first bowl before taking it from her and drying it with a towel. Head tilted slightly back, his glasses beginning to fog up with the heat of the water. His voice raised to a more natural level. 

“Too much research, too much sitting around thinking about intangible things.”

“Isn’t that what you do with math though?” To his credit the disgusted look he gave her wasn’t really all that meaningful; he threw no strength behind it, no sting to deter furth offensive comments nor warn her to tread carefully. 

“No. Equations make things concrete. All things can be explained through mathematics but sometimes people get so lost in the what ifs that they forget the what’s known is right in front of them.” Lily allowed him to take the second bowl from her hand, his hand grazing hers momentarily, warm and calloused before sliding away.

Koku appeared on Lily’s other side, a smile still etched across his features as he placed his and Yuna’s dishes in the sink. Scoffing lightly, Lily smirked to herself as Koku scuttled away as though worried that she’d grab him by his collar and force him to help clean. “Sounds like I’ve found the reason Eric hired you.”

“As he’s keen to mention, there’s many reasons he hired me.”

Lily snorted. Doing her part of the cleaning she couldn’t help the smirk that crawled across her lips. “Like being so charming all the time?”

“Says you after throwing your slipper at me. In my own apartment too.” Lily laughed, eyes closing for a moment before sighing into the sink. She rested her hips against the counter, eyes remaining shut, her smile lingered; Lily braced herself on either side of the sink, one hand holding the final bowl and the other freshly rinsed by warm water. 

Maybe it was the sound of the running water or even the brush of hot steam against her face that made her settle into such a comfortable state. Or maybe it was the company? Yuna and Koku had a way of disappearing when she and Keith had their strange spats - something between an argument and a conversation that occured like clockwork between them. Keith managed well with her personality, something that she’s all too surprised with; since the first day they met she had described him as disgruntled and aggravating but now they seem to be more quirks of his personality than shortcomings. 

He took the last clean bowl from her loose grasp, pulling Lily from her daze and back to the present. “I probably should get my dishwasher fixed.” 

“Yeah, it would be useful. Especially now that you have some many people living here; that’s a lot more dishes to do.” Handing her the slightly damp towel, Keiths’ jaw set to one side.

“More than I ever thought.” Not annoyance this time, maybe he was simply too exhausted to muster the completely disgruntled disposition Lily had come to expect. 

 

“Well, if I’m really not welcomed all you have to do is ask nicely.” She wouldn’t have said it if she felt unwelcomed; and by looking him over she knew - at least, in that moment - he wasn’t going to take her up on it. 

He watched her with a set jaw and a steady gaze, his chin tilted slightly upwards as though to convey some inherent upper hand in the matter but it wasn’t fooling Lily. 

Perhaps she was getting tired or maybe the day had been too eventful after such a long period of time off, but Lily was suddenly overcome with the need to yawn. Fighting it, she turned her head away.

“Maybe tonight wasn’t the best night to work off the clock.” He commented, glancing up at his wall clock. It was only something like 8:30 pm and at the absurdity of exhaustion she waved him off. 

“No, no I’m fine. At least we can organize the tapes or something. Find out which ones are relevant and all that.” Keith made an unenthusiastic noise of acknowledgment but stood unmoved from his spot. She returned his disbelieving stare with a stubborn glare of her own. 

“You’re not sleeping here.” 

“I wouldn’t want to!” She replied, feeling as her face warmed without warning. The look he gave her screamed disbelief. “I won’t.” She urged further, crossing her arms and cementing both feet to the ground.

Tilting her own chin upwards Lily watched him closely, looking for the minute quirks she’d come to know. Not annoyance this time, just skepticism yet he was unyielding. In her intense scrutinizing she caused herself pause, a thought coming to mind. 

“Do you think you’ll cut your hair again?”

“What?”

“It’s getting long.” She explained, tilting her head to one side to get a better look despite his slight step back. “And I’m pretty sure you have a bit of tree stuck in it from the crime scene.” Despite the scoffing noise that escaped his mouth Keith reached up to his head and patted down the matte of thick hair.

“Well, I didn't know it bothered you.” He retorted a tad sharply. Defensive, Lily noted. He frowned, his hand dropping as he began to turn away.

“No I just noticed you’d stopped… shaving too. Figured it was laziness at first but - ”

“It’s a lot of upkeep.” Oh yes, most definitely defensive; Lily felt her lips quirk into a smile as she saw the tips of his ears grow pink. How funny. “What’s it to you anyway?”

“I thought it looked nice shorter and… shaven.” She replied, following him towards the common room. “But either’s fine. Hey, it’s what friends are for, you know?”

His shoulders hunched as he stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets. “That’s _not_ what friends get concerned about.” 

“Well it’s what I have to say.” She said with an air of finality, unable to understand why he was so embarrassed. Lily had to admit that seeing him flustered was a somewhat rare occurrence and she most definitely relished it.

“Yeah, yeah.” Was his reply as he plopped himself on his sofa unable to dissipate the pinkish hue that had spread across his features. With a softened smile she sat herself beside him, giving him a respectable distance to cool the simmering of annoyance he most likely harbered for her. 

Swiping the remote for the VHS player off the coffee table she fiddled with the controls until the camera swung its way back to the sign labeled EAST BAY PARK. Kicking off her other slipper she stretched over the edge of the sofa arm to grab her flip notebook from her jacket hung near the door.

Tape 1  
East Bay northwest entrance from Sunday morning to Monday afternoon approx 4:00 pm.

Tape 2  
Central Plaza rotating camera about a 10 minute walk from JD 1 crime scene.

Tape 3  
South entrance (nearest to De Fiore crime scene) from Sunday-Monday.

Tape 

Was as far as Lily got before her exhaustion got to her. The blanket she’d grabbed to cover her legs and bare feet was warm and soft, the arm of the sofa calling to her as a perfectly shaped pillow that all lulled her to a comforting - if not exhaustion based - sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading the newest chapter, I've tried to pace myself with this fic since it's so easy to overlook mistakes and errors when you do a lot of writing and then editing back to back. I was a bit nervous, yet excited, to address Yuna and Koku in this fic because there's just _soooooo_ much lore dropped surrounding them towards the end of the Netflix series and I honestly can only remember so much of it! 
> 
> In any case, hope you enjoyed. The comments and kudos brighten my day, so thank you everyone for your support! <3


	6. An Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The worst demons we have are those we keep to ourselves; hopefully in Lily's case there's people in her life that can help her recognize that. Or at least begin to.

# An Awakening 

###  Chapter 6

Groaning into the tweed knitting of the sofa Lily squeezed her eyes shut as she shifted beneath her blanket. No matter how she twisted or turned the sofa never regained its heavenly qualities that had lulled her into her devious sleep the night before. Releasing a huff of air Lily opened one eye, pushing the blanket off with reckless abandon she took in her surroundings.

The television was frozen on a greyscale image of East Bay Park, the kitchen and the living room were silent and empty, and the door to the common bathroom was pulled tightly shut. The faint sound of a running shower barely registering to Lily’s ears as she groaned into the tweed sofa. 

With a strength she did not know she possessed Lily forced herself to sit up becoming grossly aware of the horrible kink in her neck. She groaned again, carefully tilting her head as she prodded the muscles with her fingertips; it was tender to the touch and restricting of movement, so much so that Lily simply pouted for a few moments as she attempted to massage it out. 

Uncrossing her legs Lily straightened her back, planting her feet firmly on the ground and yawning deeply. Her eyes reopened as her foot landed on something soft yet compact. 

A pillow?

Lily raised a brow, lifting her foot from the small bedroom pillow, her neck momentarily forgotten. She admitted to herself that it took more of her deductive skills than she was proud to admit to realize that someone must’ve brought it to her after she’d fallen asleep. Deadpanning, it occurred to Lily that the empty soda cans and various accouterments from the evening before now rested, scattered across the floor by her feet. Like a line of casualties she glanced from the pillow to where the items once rested atop the table. It wasn’t difficult to determine _who_ had thrown the pillow or in what manner it had arrived in her vicinity. 

Lily had to remind herself of what her mother had worked so hard to instill in her: _It’s the thought that counts_. Even if its delivery was more akin to the feeding of bread to pigeons than a friendly gesture. 

Forcing herself to stand, Lily did her best to ignore the tension that radiated up her neck as she shuffled over to her discarded slipper. Sliding them both on she managed in her sleepy haze to bypass the box of VHS tapes.

In the kitchen Lily opened his refrigerator to find it surprisingly sparse for someone who seems to have an affinity for home cooked meals and, to her desolation, as her gaze scanned the countertops her eyes fell on his coffee machine which looked like something straight out of one of her brothers’ science fiction novels. It was a complex looking contraption, multi tiered and with an exposed drip system it was far too early in the morning for Lily to consider fiddling with it. 

At that thought Lily’s gaze rose to the wall clock.

“Oh no…” Lily suddenly jerked her head to glance out the window, hissing as the pain ignited through the nerves in her neck sure enough she saw the sun raised well into the sky and the bustle of morning traffic pushing down the lane. “Gah! So much for getting to work on time.”

\- - -

In the end Lily never did get to say goodbye to Koku or Yuna. Rushing to her apartment to get a change of clothes and brush her teeth before work became top priority. _Stella del Mattino_ wouldn’t be opened for a few hours and, much like herself, her family were considerably late sleepers; she felt lucky to be met with nothing more than the neighborhood tabby cat as she struggled into clean work clothes. She was glad to not be greeted with prodding questions; the last thing she needed was her father or brother jumping to any sort of conclusions. 

Safe driving be damned, Lily managed to get to work only thirty-five minutes late. Sheepishly she strode up to Dominic and Claire at the RP security desk, greeting them with uncharacteristic butterflies in her stomach Lily reached for her ID to find it missing from its usual spot. Face paling Lily quickly patted down her other pockets and then the inside slip of her jacket as Claire watched her with a single blonde brow raised. Nothing.

“Misplace it?” Claire asked politely as she moved to the computer and begun typing at an expert pace. Slightly flustered Lily felt herself fumble over her RIS number as though she was a green recruit before Claire called for Dominic to give her a clipboard. “Go ahead and fill this out real quick and we’ll get you upstairs.” Though professional in nature, Claire smiled warmly as Lily timidly took the clipboard.

Stepping away she began filling out the paperwork for a visitors pass. “I’m wearing the freaking RIS jacket.” Lily mumbled to herself. Puffing out her cheek in frustration she faintly heard the clicking of heels on tile. 

No more than fifteen paces away Kaela power walked towards the security checkpoint, coffee in one hand and ID in the other, her arm pressed to her side with two laptops held in place. Kaela paused by the turnstiles her gaze darting in Lily’s direction before taking a few steps backwards.

“Hey, Lily what the hell are you doing?” Jumping slightly at her name, Lily met Kaela’s gaze before twisting the clipboard towards her coworker to see. “Oh, for the love of - ” Kaela cut herself off as she closed the distance between them. 

Like a mother well versed in the art of juggling many children, Kaela snatched the clipboard from her grasp, placing it on the nearest table before gripping Lily’s arm and guiding her through the turnstiles; all without jostling her laptops or setting down her hot coffee. 

“Don’t be ridiculous they know who you are. She’s with me.” Kaela said, effectively silencing Dominic as he began to object. Clamping his mouth shut, Dominic’s lips pressed into a hard line as Kaela all but yanked Lily down the familiar hallway; Lily’s boots scuffing against the tile she struggled to keep up with Kaela’s intense pace. 

Why was everyone so much faster than her?

By the time they reached the bullpen Lily had managed to free herself of Kaela’s vice like grip, doing her best to not look slightly winded from the excursion. Kaela tilted her coffee to her lips before tossing the paper cup into the trash near the door. Kaela let out a short huff, pausing momentarily before catching Lily with a sideways glance that made Lily feel as though she were caught in some questionable act. 

“It’s not like you to forget your ID.”

“Oh yeah, must have slipped out of my - ” Kaela _hmm_ ed as she pushed passed Lily desk. Her blonde hair bounced as she walked, her pencil skirt hugging just above her knees. Lily wondered how in the world she wore that attire every day.

“Right, well I saved you fifteen minutes. Might not want to do it again, pretty sure Derrick wanted to bite my head off.” 

“His name’s Dominic.” Lily corrected though by the look of Kaela’s trajectory her comment fell on deaf ears. “Thanks though!” Without looking back Kaela waved her ID card in acknowledgment before she disappeared into her office. 

“Don’t mind her today.” The familiar voice of Bran mumbled from his desk. Lily glanced over to see him typing away at his new laptop, his gaze darting between it and his desktop screen. “The commander put her up to something that’s got her all,” Bran paused as he motioned with one hand in the air circling it around ambiguously, “you know? She’s in the zone.” 

Lily padded over to her desk, her brow raised as she watched her friend work. Setting down her belongings she booted up her own computer. Luckily she’d been smart enough to grab the case files from Keith’s apartment.

“You seem pretty ‘in the zone’ yourself. What’s got you so focused?” Bran threw her a somewhat disheartened look, exaggerated to gain sympathy but Lily could see the excitement just beneath the surface. He was enjoying whatever he was working on. 

“Oh you know, just a few things here and there.” He smirked to himself as he wiggled the mouse connected to the desktop screen. Minimizing a grouping of line charts he pulled up a map of Cremona. “I’m compiling all our cases onto the grid for Eric, it’s a bit tedious but he made a wager that there’s some kind of connection we’re missing. And I mean _all_ of our cases, by the way, not just the new ones. Besides,” Bran lifted his hands, folding them behind his head as he kicked away from his desk; spinning a full rotation, he pushed himself towards the fax machine, “you and me, we’ve always been a bit of visual learners.” 

Lily found it impossible to ignore the not so subtle hint of self satisfaction Bran exuded once the fax machine began its string of chirps. 

“Uh-huh, well part of me hopes it’s not all connected you know? But that seems impossible at this point.” Lily commented, her voice trailing off into a murmur as she took her seat and began reading through her logs and emails. 

Nothing too urgent caught her eye but she did see a single log from Dr. Maeve Hynes concerning the DNA evidence of the three victims. A rush of giddiness caused Lily to smile lightly to herself. 

Faintly aware that Boris and Commander Eric had started a conversation a few feet away, something about their cadence drew Lily’s attention. Her eyes drifting over the top of her computer screen as Eric’s voice turned edged. 

“We _have_ to stay on top of this Boris, we can’t let anything slip through the cracks - especially because we lost sight of protocol.” Boris’ brows crunched together, his shoulders straightening out as he leaned back in his chair to look the commander directly in the eye. 

“You don’t have to worry about me, sir, I dot all my _i_ ’s and cross all my _t_ ’s.” Boris was confused if not slightly dismayed that the commander was accusing him of something. 

“Double check then. I hate to say it but the file you sent me was incomplete.” Boris leaned forward in his chair as his jaw drew slack.

“That’s impossible! I exported it as a .PDF like Bran showed me and - ” Boris hesitated once Commander Eric began shaking his head, his eyes closing. 

“I believe you intended to but I also know that what reached my desk wasn’t complete.” 

The conversation struck Lily as odd, sending the hairs on the nape of her neck on end. Especially after the fiasco of the breach in privacy a few months ago, Lily found herself anxiously glancing at her cell. No, they should be fine. Kaela claimed that she’d managed to keep in place a “scrambler” at the precinct; whatever that meant. 

Pressing the home button of her phone, Lily frowned when it didn’t respond. Pressing it again this time with more force, she groaned as the screen remained blank. 

Dead battery. Right, she didn’t have her charger at Keiths. 

“Oi, Lily.” Glancing up, her gaze passed over Boris and the commander, their conversation taking a less accusatory measure, to meet Mario’s. He leaned back in his high backed chair, legs propped up on his desk as he flipped through a manilla folder. 

“You seen your partner?” Blinking blankly Lily suddenly registered that not only had she not seen him at the precinct today but she also hadn’t seen him when she woke up that morning. Feeling somewhat unsure of how to articulate all of that, Lily instead chose to roll her eyes. 

“What’d he do now?” 

“Nothin’ yet, he wanted me to call him by 9:00 am if you hadn’t seen him.” 

There was a lot to unpack there. Lily shook her head, her mouth opening momentarily before she cleared her throat. She glanced towards the clock to read 8:58 am, before looking back to her own phone hesitantly. Had he tried to get ahold of her? Why her?

Right, partners.

“When’d he tell you that?” Lily asked uncertainty, racking her brain for a time when he and Mario had been in contact. Then it hit her: yesterday before they left the office. That must’ve been it. 

Mario scowled, exhaling a sharp breath with a _tch_ his eyes flicking over to Bran and the fax machine that began chirping once again. “Something like two in the morning last night. Prick decided to give me a house call before heading out to your crime scene.” 

Lily’s eyes widened in surprise. Two in the morning? Fingers nervously drumming against her desk Lily felt herself leaning towards Mario as he reached across his desk with his long arm to scoop up his phone. 

“Wait, which crime scene?” Was all she could muster while keeping her voice from wavering. Mario looked to her again as he pecked at his phone.

“The one he got called to last night.” Mario’s focus returned back to his phone for a moment before he drew it to his ear. 

Lily considered the very real possibility of a new crime scene and another victim at East Bay Park. Even for RIS standards four murders in three days all within two miles of each other was a surprise. Nonetheless Keith was certain that they’re unrelated. But how could that be? Looking at the probability it seemed too unlikely. Before last Sunday the last murder at East Bay Park was seven months ago and before that was over a year ago. 

“This one’s for you!” Bran’s voice cut through her thoughts like a hot knife through butter. She jumped at his touch, her eyes doe-wide and her sharp inhale audible. The fax Bran rested against her sank to her desk as she stared openly at her friend. 

Bran watched her for a moment his smile falling from his face as he looked her over. She felt stuck unable - or more accurately, unwilling - to move as he slowly inched his chair closer to her. 

“Hey, sorry didn’t mean to spook you.” He offered in a low voice, the worry creeping across his features. 

She wanted to tell him it was no worry, that she must’ve spaced out and then they’d have a laugh at her expense but there was something that stilled her tongue. Lips parted and mouth dry she found herself at a loss for words.

A sharp inhale surprised them both as she realized she’d been holding her breath; a shudder of sorts as her gaze dropped to her hands on her desk. 

It was nothing - seriously, it was _laughable_ how unscary Bran’s actions had been. She was a cop - an investigator for the Royal Police for God's sake! 

Then why were her hands shaking?

“ - Lily, seriously what’s wrong?” Her eyes shot up to meet his once again, her hands clenched into fists before she swallowed loudly. He’d been speaking to her but she didn’t remember what he’d said. What was wrong with her?

“Nothing, I just,” Lily paused with a long and even exhale. Bran rested his hand on her forearm and it grounded her, “I’ve been spacing out a lot lately. There’s a lot to do, you know?” Bran smiled, too willing to believe it was nothing more than Lily’s excuse to see past her lie. 

“Yeah I know the feeling.” He replied with a shaky laugh, awkward to anyone else but Lily knew Bran enough to know that shakiness was relief. “If you need anything you know where to ask. We’ll get these assholes. Together.” Bran gave her forearm a slight squeeze before throwing a sweeping glance around the bullpen. Their exchange had gone unnoticed by the others; Mario with his phone pressed into his ear having hunched forward over his keyboard while Boris and Eric’s tone had shifted to a more friendly banter.

“Roger doodle.” Lily mumbled to her friend as he pulled away from her. “Hey Mario!” Lily suddenly called out, raising her voice to gain the attention of the entire bullpen. With raised brows Mario paused mid-sentence to look towards her. “Give me the phone for a bit.”

_ _ _ 

A part of Lily was furious at Keith. A call for both of them to examine a new crime scene at East Bay Park and he hadn’t thought it worth his time to try and wake her? It was no matter, that argument was for another time. She felt forebodingly inclined to not say the phrases _“Did you even trying to wake me up last night?”_ or _“So you just decided to leave me behind?”_ which were the first of many to come to mind. Instead she tempered herself with even breaths before actually saying:

“Dr. Hynes said she has the DNA results for us at the coroner's office.” She heard Keith hesitate, the surprise of her change of subject palpable even over the phone. When he didn’t attempt to fill the silence she continued. “I was going to head over now but if you’ll be back soon I could - ”

“Wait for me.” The seriousness of his voice, of his demand caused her to stutter.

“O-ooh.” Eyes flashing towards Mario she realized that he was very much listening to her end of the conversation, she felt the pink rise to her face. In a smaller voice than she was willing to admit she amended: “Okay then, just, um, just make sure you’re back before lunch.” He hesitated again before grunting as a response.

“Right, right.” She could almost visualize him waving her off with his voice. “Just hold off for now, I’ll be back soon.” His voice changed again, returning to a more normal - a more expected - tone. Biting the inside of her cheek Lily narrowed her eyes. 

Sure, she’d wait for him but he couldn’t wait long enough to wake her from the sofa last night? Sure. 

Despite the annoyance that bubbled to the surface and the pink the marred her cheeks Lily looked to Mario who purposefully averted his gaze before swallowing those comments. For now. 

“Yeah, yeah, see you in a bit.” She replied as a goodbye. Mario stared at his computer screen for a few moments too long to be realistically engrossed in his work. She placed his phone on his desk before glancing down at his screen. If he was going to be nosey so would she. “What’cha working on?”

“Looking into a few leads on the gold drug.” He explained leaning back into his chair and causing it to creak against his weight. “I’m not going to lie though most of them end in an overdosed nut job or a dead trail. As for the actual supplier… I guess you could say it’s like investigating a cave. Sure, you can find out what’s inside but there’s only one way.” 

Mario frowned his eyes unfocusing behind Lily. She didn’t like the concept but she understood the desperation to solve the case, especially one headed by such a seemingly systematic system yet -

“Well, you be careful out there, mister!” Lily exclaimed with a toothy grin, snaking her arm around his neck she held him in a headlock. Careful not to squeeze too tight she dug her knuckles into his short blonde hair as he tensed beneath her. He reaching up with quick precision to wrap his hand around her ear lob, yanking downwards she couldn’t help but yelp. 

“Ow-ow!”

 

“I’m always careful, you runt!”

“Hey! Enough you two.” At the sound of Commander Toga’s stern voice they seperated, muttering apologies. Like a father catching his children red handed Eric watched the two of them out of the corner of his eye until they went to their respective desks and resumed working. 

It wasn’t until after their commander turned his back and began walking towards Kaela’s nest that Lily stuck her tongue out at Mario. Though she was sure that he hadn’t seen her, she hadn’t missed how his mouth rested in the slightest of smirks. 

For twenty minutes Lily worked at her desk, making herself busy with somewhat comparably menial tasks. She looked through her case files and field notes, not yet finding herself making the connections that she so desperately wished for. She’s still missing something, something that maybe Keith could answer.

When he arrived Lily heard him long before she saw him. Heavy footsteps and a snipping voice he spoke to someone with an annoyance that went beyond anything he threw at her. Whoever it was, they separated from him before he entered the bullpen, passing through the threshold with a dark scowl and noticeable bags under his eyes. Hunching in the doorway his gaze connected with hers. 

“Good, you’re still here. Let’s go.” Raising her brow Lily was too curious about what Dr. Hynes had to say and Keith’s insight to care how his frustration carried over when he spoke with her. 

\- - - 

The coroners office was a very familiar place for Lily. In her years of service to the RIS alongside Bran, Mario, Boris, and even Kaela she’d visited here thousands of times. It was clinical, high tech, and now outfitted with the shiny silver plaque’s reading ‘Dr. Maeve Hynes.’ But despite the good familiarity Lily found herself suddenly very glad that she did not come here alone.

Whether Keith knew it or not he’d been right and she was so glad that he’d said to wait for him.

It creeped up on her like the shadow of a cold winter night, engulfing the sun and leaving her in a darkness she wasn’t prepared to combat. He’d brought her here; with very little difficulty she’d been ferried through these doors, passed the entry room and down the halls to his office. The worst part was that she remembered so many things from that night. That number of things had grown, at first it was only her on the slab and him standing over her before Keith and the others arrived but as time went on more and more memories seeped in from their dark places she’d shut them away to. 

He’d thought she’d been unconscious, or maybe Gilbert knew she was slipping in and out of her awareness, it was possible that’s what he had wanted. It was so strange that he spoke to her with such reverence, as though she was simply in someone else’s skin; she’d heard him accuse her of loving Keith. That - 

That was when the icy anger truly began. 

It always was about Keith; her fear, his anger, that evening was all because Gilbert wanted to unravel his rival. They loved her -

A strong hand on her shoulder pulled her back to the present. Her breathing was ragged and strained, her heart beating so hard against her ribcage she thought for a moment it was a memory come back to life. 

“Hey.” Stern yet low, his voice grounded her; pulling her eyes to meet his she understood something she hadn’t considered before. 

“Keith, I - ”

“I know.” And he did. She could see it in his expression, in the way he watched her and in the way he squeezed her shoulder. “Let’s come back later.” 

“No!” Lily shouted, unable to control her own voice she sucked in a raspy breath before continuing in a quieter tone. “No, I-I need to get this over with.” 

For a long moment Lily thought he was going to tell her no, tell her off, and then drag her away; but instead his jaw set at a crooked angle as his eyes scoured over her, looking for something that she wasn’t sure he could find. 

“Can I help you two?” A mans voice asked, cutting through the tension. Keith held her gaze for a few moments longer before glancing over at whoever spoke with a scowl.

“We’re here for Dr. Hynes.” Lily interjected, raising her voice before Keith could share whatever rude thought he had rolling around the tip of his tongue. The man was someone Lily had never met before, wearing a lab coat and toting around a clipboard he stood too far away to read his nametag. The stranger looked between the two partners hesitantly before stepping out of the entry room with a curt nod. 

Lily felt as Keith dropped his grip on her shoulder leaving it searingly warm in his absence. Gaze set downwards at the pristine white tile Lily huffed before slowly raising her eyes to meet Keith. It was then that something struck her as different. 

“Hey, you shaved.” Sure enough his beard was shaved into a trimmed goatee. Keith’s eyes widened slightly before he pushed past her, hands shoved in his pockets he followed after the stranger in the lab coat; if it wasn’t for the reddening of the tips of his ears she would have believed his otherwise indifferent demeanor. 

“So?” 

Lily felt a warmth rush over her, the origins of which she could not quite place. A satisfaction? Maybe. In that moment his embarrassment was what made him more than _Genie_ ; the others saw a genius stuck in his own bubble but Lily saw how human he could be.

“Nothing.” She offered lightly, following after him with quick steps and an uplifted heart. “It just looks nice.” 

Together, they pushed passed the swinging doors of the coroners office entry room making their way to a place that seemed somewhat less demonized. The edge of her anxiety had been momentarily lifted and, for that, Lily was grateful. To anyone that questioned them Keith flashed his badge and told them off with a tense tone that didn’t go unnoticed by Lily. Had he always been so easy to embarrass? 

They didn’t need a guide through the halls to Gilbert’s old office. It wasn’t until they reached a pair of newly installed wooden double doors that Lily released a breath she’d been holding. Dr. Maeve Hynes had not only redecorated but also reconstructed much of the space. She added specks of color and, dare Lily think it, _warmth_ to the clinical domain. Whether the new coroner knew it or not, she’d buffed away some of Lily’s dread; with a sideways glance to her partner their eyes met for a silent moment. Lily was ready to see the good doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope you enjoyed this new chapter, I really enjoyed writing this one. Thanks to all the comments and kudos they truly do inspire me to keep writing.


	7. A Divergent Thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit to the good doctors domain proves to be enlightening in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I've been really enjoying getting back into writing again; thanks for all the comments and kudos it's really a nice change of pace from simply writing for myself, now I get to write for a y'all folks too ^_^
> 
> Maidin mhaith - Good morning
> 
> And I've also included a well known Irish Blessing. 
> 
> Enjoy! <3

# A Divergent Thought

### Chapter 7

The office of Dr. Maeve Hynes felt more like a warm den than the work space of the head forensic coroner of the Royal Police. Chrome traded for dark wood and sleek straight lines forgotten in place of soft curves, the only thing that remained as a stark reminder of Gilbert’s office was the floor to ceiling x-ray illuminator and shelving unit behind her mahogany work space.

Treading lightly on the plush rug Lily caught the gaze of Dr. Hynes as she turned to face them. Lab coat draped over her shoulders like a throw blanket rather than a proper covering, the doctor glanced lazily between Lily and Keith before turning from the illuminator and setting a rather large, rectangular x-ray on her desk. 

“ _Maidin mhaith_ , inspectors.” Dr. Hynes greeted, her accented voice lilting with a hint of gravel. “Though I admit that I expected you a bit earlier.” 

“We came as soon as we could.” Keith offered, hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes darting around the office. His expression spoke to concern though for what, Lily was unsure. Maybe it was simply the change itself that caused him discomfort.

“I’m sure.” Dr. Maeve Hynes murmured as she strode with long steps across the room. Arm reaching out she glanced over the organization of folders, boxes, and files before pulling down a bundled and clipped stack of paperwork nearly one inch thick. 

Running her hand through her shortly cropped orange hair she scanned the top few documents before setting them on the desk between the three of them. “Here’s the documents and my notes on the autopsies. Feel free to inspect them and inquire as necessary.” 

“Thanks, doc, we’ll do that.” Lily said as she closed the distance and took the paperwork up in her arms. With a small smile, head tilted to look over the ivory cover page labeled Easy Bay Park, Cremona, Lily was surprised to see that the beautiful printing of deep black ink was handwritten and stylized. “You do fast work.” 

“And accurate, I’m sure you’ll soon find.” Dr. Hynes added with a smirk, her ice blue eyes boring into Lily. Unsure of how to respond Lily laughed awkwardly, her body itching to step a few paces away. Hynes was looking for something and Lily was unsure she wanted to know exactly what.

“You really wasted no time changing the place.” Lily heard Keith comment from somewhere behind her. Lily recognized the subtle accusation in his voice, a challenge of sorts. If Dr. Hynes heard the tinge of resentment her response didn’t reflect it. Instead her gaze held Lily in place, her shapely brow raising.

“It was a bit droll for my taste. I’ve had enough of the harsh and clinical lines in medical school, my internship, my residency, and then working under many tasteless sycophants.” She paused, her eyes flicking to Keith for a moment before returning to Lily. “Nevertheless I wanted _change_.” 

Despite her awkwardness Lily nodded in agreement. She hadn’t spent more hours than necessary in hospitals or morgues but she definitely appreciated Dr. Hynes take on it all. No matter the intensity she dragged around like a loaded gun. 

“We missed you today, Inspecter Hoshina. Perhaps one day I’ll be approached by both of you at a crime scene instead of waiting for one or the other heartfully missed.” Lily awkwardly laughed again unsure if the doctor was actually annoyed or teasing her in a twisted sort of way. 

“Long story but hopefully it won’t be a problem in the future.” Lily offered, tearing herself from Dr. Hynes with more trouble than she cared to admit. The doctor was a constant pulse of fervor and, though it was off putting, it was far from sinister. Lily’s gaze fell on Keith as he stood with crunched brow, his shoulders slightly hunched he scrutinized a piece of art hung on the wall. 

Aged cloth and thread it struck Lily as odd and out of place. For a moment she mirrored the expression that stained Keith’s features, the intense doctor had settled on something so… _domestic_ to decorate her office. The cross stitch was beautiful and delicate, made by purposeful and loving hands of someone from a time long passed.

“What’s it say?” Keith inquired followed by a pitiful attempt to read the letters of an unfamiliar language. Crossing the room to join him Lily saw the beautiful, calligraphic stitching:

 

_D'éirigh leis an mbóthar freastal ort._  
B'fhéidir go mbeadh an ghaoth i gcónaí ar do chúl.  
Féadfaidh an ghrian teas ar d'aghaidh.  
Agus titim báistí ar bháistí ar do chuid páirceanna.  
Agus go dtí go gcomhlíonfaimid arís,  
D'fhéadfá Dia a shealbhú i gcuimhne a láimh.

Keith’s voice trailing off their attention was pulled from the cross stitch as Dr. Maeve Hynes broke the silence of the room. She translated the language in their shared tongue with the reverence of something long loved and the cadence of something long known:

“May the road rise to meet you.  
May the wind be always at your back.  
May the sun shine warm upon your face.  
And rains fall soft upon your fields.  
And until we meet again,  
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

“It’s a blessing my mother used to live by from my great gran.” Dr. Hynes hesitated thoughtfully before gliding across the room to pass Lily and Keith. A softness touched her features, her thoughts drifting to a long forgotten memory as she rested her one free hand against the arch of the doorframe. “Come now, let me show you the source of all our quandaries. The dead should never be left waiting for long.” 

The good doctor spoke with a finality, passing through the threshold without so much as a backwards glance. Lily and Keith looked to each other, sharing a brief moment before following her through the hall and towards the examination room. 

The hallway was laid with the simple tile one might find in a hospital but the walls were stark white and outfitted with chrome door knobs and thermostats, the nameplates besides the doors read various names and positions; all of which passed by Lily with a blur.

“Hmm?” Lily responded when she finally registered the deep timbre of Keith’s voice beside her. He had been speaking to her, likely under his breath so the doctor could not hear. 

“I _said_ ,” he started again this with a bit of tension this time, “I haven’t quite figured her out yet.” He had slowed his pace to match Lily’s, hunching slightly towards her as though they were some sort of conspiring teenagers whispering about their school teacher. Lily couldn’t quell the twitch of her lip as she looked to him. 

“And that really bothers you, doesn’t it?” His glare spoke to the childish nature of it all. 

“Like you’re not bothered.” 

“Well,” Lily paused, breathing evenly to keep the tremble of a smile at bay, “I suppose so, I just met her and all. Maybe we should invite her to the bullpen to hang out.” Keith snorted in response; despite herself, Lily thought it an endearing sound. Before he could pull away and sever the somewhat secretive connection of their conspiracy, Lily added: “She was there last night?”

Keith paused, his gaze flicking to the doctors ramrod straight posture as she strode a good twenty feet in front of them. “Yeah, got there before me. She’s the punctual type, that’s for sure.” Lily hmmed as she looked over the doctor; she seemed the type. A distant, macabre part of Lily joked it was best not to annoy one’s coroner, lest it drive them to questionable means. But she brushed it away without second thought. 

“I guess I should ask if you had any case-breaking breakthroughs. I’d hate for you to have solved this case without me.” To her surprise a low chuckle escaped his throat; one that vibrated from deep within his chest and immediately pulled her full attention to her partner. She’d never heard him make _that_ sound before. 

“It doesn’t really work like that.” Lily scoffed, a baseless warmth rising to her cheeks. 

“ _Riiiight_ , because it's never happened before.” She was teasing him now. She could feel the thrum of something resonate between them, a sort of energy that held them their set distance from one another as their feet pulled them forward. “What, not enough room in that noggin for another?”

He huffed in disbelief, the dancing of light in his eye reflecting incredulously. “And what, exactly? You want to see inside my brain or something?”

“More like to be on the same page.” Lily clasped her hands behind her back and straightened her shoulders as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. “You keep to yourself a lot. I don’t mind filling in the blanks usually but sometimes it’s nice to be told what’s going on up there.” 

It occurred to Lily that there was more truth to her words than she originally thought. She did want to know: about work, about what he wanted, about what he cared about. For all their time together there was so little she knew about him. 

“A pot calling the kettle.” He mumbled as he straightened to his full height head turned forward, his eyes remaining on Lily. “You’re a piece of work, you know that?” 

“Well, that’s just rude - ” 

“If you two are quite finished,” like a reflection both Lily and Keith jumped at the sound of Dr. Hynes deadpan tone, their eyes snapping forward. Her back still turned from them she slid her ID through a card reader before tucking it away and pulling open the heavy door. It was only then that she glanced back at the pair, “then we can get on with this.” 

Lily couldn’t fathom the basis of the warmth that heated her cheeks and caused her lips to press hard together. She felt as though she had been caught in some unscrupulous act though the look the doctor gave her was carefully blank as they approached. 

“After you, doc.” Keith mumbled, scratching the newly shaved skin of his jaw. He took the door from her, meeting the doctor’s gaze with an impassiveness that left Lily feeling like she’d missed something. 

It was split second but once it passed it was as though nothing had occurred and within the minute they were pushing passed the chrome double doors of the examination room and donning gloves. 

Lily tried to hide the relief that washed over her; it seemed ridiculous considering the place that haunted the darker shades of her mind had been quarantined and destroyed after its discovery. This examination room, though much smaller, was just as impressive in its own right to the one that came before it. While maintaining the cadaverous nature of the coroners work it lacked the grim and perverse aftertaste. 

“As cited in my notes the fingerprint evidence has been confirmed for formally known _Jane Doe 1_ her identity is JoAnn Strouse. She’s registered with the Commission of Teaching Credentialing within Cremona; she was a primary school teacher. All information is included in the file.” Dr. Hynes spoke as she made quick work of preparing a cadaver for viewing; a process that Lily had seen many times but never truly got used to. 

“Jane Doe 2’s identity is still unknown. Her prints were run through the system but there’s nothing to match them to; I’ve gone ahead and sent her likeness to missing persons to see if we can get a positive identification that way.” Lily felt somewhat helpless watching the tall yet lithe woman work while she stood watching on. Keith seemed less than worried as he pulled on the rim of his gloves. “Inspector Hoshina has done an excellent job in place of the mediocre work of my crime scene workers in finding the ID of previously known _Jane Doe 3_ , now known to be Alice De Fiore. She was a student at Crown University of Cremona in her last year.” 

Dr. Hynes paused, eyes closing for a moment before she reached out to the cadaver she’d prepared and pulled the cloth down to reveal the unmoving features of an unfamiliar man.

“John Doe was found last night around 2:10 am approximately a thirty-five minute walk from yesterday's crime scene.” Dr. Hynes recounted to the room. “Wallet was stolen, RPc took his fingerprints but as of now we’re waiting on the results. During my preliminary examination I concluded that cause of death was this,” Dr. Hynes led them towards the slab, a male form resting upon it with a cotton blanket covering from his shoulders down. With a delicate touch Dr. Hynes lowered the right corner of the blanket to reveal the dark wounds. 

There were many. Lily counted at least six bullet wounds that peppered his chest, a few disappeared beneath the blanket that covered his arm, out of sight. 

“All are from the same 9mm handgun, one of which we retrieved.” The doctor continued before recovering his wound with the off-white cloth. “They missed his heart but managed to pierce his lungs. I fear it was not an easy death.” Lily frowned at the thought but it was Keith who voiced their shared consideration.

“Sounds like a mugging gone south.” Keith looked to Lily, catching her off guard before continuing, “the gunshots alerted someone who called the police. I imagine this whole interaction didn’t go as planned for either of them.” 

Lily tilted her head as she examined the wounds once again, pulling back the covering with gloved fingers to get a better look. Frown deepening, Lily considered that whoever aimed the gun was a poor shot. Eyes scouring his marred chest there were the telltale signs of a shaky hand with the intent to kill. 

“Someone was in the middle of East Bay Park at two in the morning? Who called it in?” Lily asked, glancing up at her partner in time to see his brow crunch together. In fact, all the murders had been centralized somewhere deep in the park. 

“We didn’t get a name, I’m pretty sure redirection labeled it as anonymous. Show me the bullet you recovered.” He added. The doctor pulled around a rolling cart before gesturing with a sweeping motion to the tray. Keith took the small bowl into his hands and looked over the bullet absently. Lily didn’t have to wait too long before he voiced his thoughts.

“Nothing’s repeats.” He sounded troubled. “Nothing except their proximity.” He was mumbling to himself, his gaze distant and glaring. “Everything is so different; the victims, the means… It’s egregious yet I’m certain.” As he finished he looked to Lily once again, setting aside the bowl without further thought. There was a conclusion at the tip of his tongue, one that Lily read in his eyes long before he spoke it. 

“East Bay is the keystone.” Lily could tell from the twitch of his expression that her phrasing was different than his but their shared understanding settled between them nonetheless. 

“There’s going to be another murder.” Keith confirmed, lips pressed into a thin line. “Quite a few more if we don’t catch up.” The wretchedness of it all caused Lily to sigh audibly, brows knitted together as her head tilted downwards. 

Maybe it seemed obvious to Dr. Hynes or maybe the silent conversation between the two partners annoyed the doctor, but Lily didn’t care. Yes, more murders may seem obvious enough but what Keith was getting at was something far more foreboding. 

Whoever was doing all this - whoever was killing all these people - was trying to make a point. A point painted in blood across the canvas of East Bay Park. It wasn’t about the victims or even the way they were killed; what mattered to the executioner was the park itself.

And the lack of understanding _why_ filled the space between Lily and Keith with heavy desolation.

“In the files I’ve pulled up JoAnn Strouse’s next of kin within the city. They live close - ” Lily shook her head causing the doctor to trail off.

“I don’t think there’s anything a visit will really tell us.” Lily murmured as she degloved; she hated it but their focus should be drawn to the park first and foremost.

“No, follow your instincts.” Keith said, pulling Lily from her thoughts. “You thought it was important before, follow up on it. We need all the leads we can get.” 

“What’ll you do?” 

“Make a few more calls to the park rangers; I think it’s about time we have a long chat with their security division.” 

\- - - 

All in all, as they prepared themselves to leave the coroners office Lily couldn’t help but be acutely aware that the good doctor watched her closely. Eyes trailing after her movements, head tilting when Lily spoke up there was a purposefulness to her singular attention that made Lily swallow thickly. Maybe it was just a curiosity; Keith Flick was a famous inspector known throughout the Royal Police and this wasn’t the first time Lily had been partnered up with him. Dr. Hynes would have surely heard of him. Especially after his face was plastered all over Cremona as the brains behind the taking down “Killer B.” 

No matter how laughable that was in hindsight.

A sinister thought crept into the back of Lily’s mind that, no matter how much she tried to ignore it she couldn’t escape the tendrils of its consideration. Maybe Dr. Hynes knew Gilbert Ross; if not of his exploits then of what he had done - what he’d almost done to Lily - and how he’d been killed. The new doctor watched Lily with such an intensity that it was as though she waited for Lily to crack under the force of her prodding curiosity. She could be looking for a fissure or perhaps she hoped to push until she created one.

Annoyance reared its ugly head, coming to boil until it completely submerged the apprehension caused by Dr. Hynes, Lily sped up her pace. Their backs to the automated doors of the coroners office, steps heavy on even pavement Lily decidedly stuffed her car keys into her pocket. Almost as though he could sense her impending wrath Keith glanced over his shoulder just as Lily reached out and took his wrist in her hand and pulled him away from the car lot.

“Hey! Lily!” Lily turned sharply, dragging her partner in tow; he fumbled awkwardly, his long limbs crossing one another. Jaw forward and eyes alight with determination, Lily held tight to him. “ _Lily -_ ”

“Change of plan, _we’re_ going to JoAnn Strouse’s sisters house.” Lily announced. He attempted to free himself from her grip but soon found that he’d have better luck taking a saw to his own wrist with the way she was manhandling him. He was puttering on about the plan they’d decided back at the coroner’s office before Lily interjected, “I need you with me, Keith!” 

At that his mouth clamped shut; the look on his face still read annoyance but at least he’d stopped complaining. He managed to catch his footing before keeping stride with Lily’s elongated steps.

“Things have been… weird today, I think it’s better if we stick together for once.” Lily offered; when his eyes darted from her face to her hand encircling his wrist she released her hold on him. “Sorry, I just - ”

“It’s fine.” Glancing up to him Keith would not return her stare, his head turned away from her he seemed to be scanning the street aimlessly. There was a pregnant pause where Keith seemed moved to elaborate but, in the end he remained reserved. 

Lily had grown used to the comfortable silences that lulled between their conversations; sometimes Lily even enjoyed the silence but this silence was weighed down by something heavy that Lily could not identify. 

Be it the tension in his shoulders or the look upon his face that Lily could only describe as “concerned annoyance,” she felt both distant yet waist deep in whatever battle Keith was having within himself. It frustrated her to no end.

It wasn’t until they were nearing the residence of Emily Strouse that Keith finally sighed heavily through his nose, his eyes turning up towards the clouds. “You still have to sift through all those VHS tapes.” He sounded tired if not a bit strained to make the comment. The show of it all drained Lily of her frustration and replaced with hesitant confusion.

“Oh, right... I guess I did say I was going to do that.” Had that only been last night? And why was he acting so weird?

“And we’ll probably have a few more tapes after today.” 

“Right.” Lily raised her brow, feeling as her features twisted as she scrutinized Keith. “Hey, we might need to get you some sun cream. Looks like your ears are getting a bit burned.” 

Keith cleared his throat before mumbling, “I’m sure I’ll manage.”

It was an odd realization but once it hit Lily she couldn’t help but shoot him a sideways glance. He was trying to be kind; maybe she was looking too much into it and he really did just want to to deal with the tapes but Lily didn’t think him so crude. No, he was offering her a kindness that a few months ago she would have brusted at the seams laughing at if someone had told her that Keith Flick would try to comfort her in such a roundabout way. He cared enough to offer and just at the thought of it Lily was filled with a lightness that tugged her features into a lawless smile. 

Reaching out, Lily encircled her arm around the crook of his elbow, tugging him to herself before letting out an involuntary laugh. He leaned heavily into her as she pulled him off balance.

“It’ll be done tonight, Inspector Flick!” 

“ _Lily, for the love of -_ ” He caught himself both verbally and physically before shooting her a weary look. “You better take damn good notes.” Was what he managed to say in reply but Lily hardly paid it any mind, her smile widening. She could feel her cheeks redden but she wasn’t bothered nearly as much as Keith was at the nosy civilians who watched them from the corners of their eyes. 

“Only the best!” 

Walking arm and arm Lily found herself feeling more certain than she ever had in the last few months. She felt lucky; lucky to have friends like Bran, Kaela, Mario, and Yuna but also lucky to have Keith. Concealed and pushed away by what Lily would call her common sense, a part of her knew there was a reason that she kept them divorced of one another. 

A divergent thought, a soft reminder that although she’d known Bran and Mario for years and she’d come to love Yuna - and maybe even Koku too - like siblings she couldn’t bring herself to define Keith as simply that. He understood a part of her that even she hadn’t begun to scratch the surface of and where to others she must explain to him she only need look to.


	8. Noble Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Accepting what now is considered normal can be daunting. Sometimes it happens at the turn of a blade while other times it occurs with the passing of time. Rarely, even for someone like Keith Flick, it happens with both.

#  Noble Heart

### Chapter 8 

 

Empathy. Unmistakable and plain across his partners features, it was something Keith had never mastered nor cared to. It was the one aspect of his job that he never thought to dwell on, a hiccup in the distinction between what he felt was important compared to what all others held in high regard. No, what mattered in his line of work was empirical and that’s what he was good at; some would say, the best even. 

For what it was worth, Lily filled that gap in his complexion with ease and grace. She was so empathetic, so _understanding_ that the people she spoke to - the ones who clung to her for compassion - truly believed she cared. 

And as he looked to her, her brow creased with concern, her brown eyes attentive, and the narrow slope of her jaw set in determination he found it difficult to think she wasn’t earnest. 

The sister, Emily Strouse, was in her late twenties and what Keith would describe as a hermit. He could tell the moment they entered her home that she lived alone; a stray glance to the lack of familial pictures around her living room confirmed that she was divorced from the majority of her family bar her late sister. In fact, Keith scratched what remained of his facial hair as he gaze trailed over the images that stuck to her refrigerator, Emily and JoAnn had been extremely close. Images of them with their faces pressed together and toothy grins, one even with hats from Disneyland seemed very recent.

Keith was vaguely aware of Lily’s inquiries, standard as they were she spoke in a way that sounded more like a conversation than the typical scrutiny of an investigation. Was it necessary? No. Was Lily going to do it anyway? Of course she was, to Lily empathy was written in the script of her being; no matter how heavy handed she could be, Lily always acted from a place of emotion.

And it took Keith _weeks_ to realize that aspect of her was the basis of her foolishness.

An idiocracy that drove him mad to no end. She threw herself with reckless abandon no matter the price she might pay, all because she danced too closely with her heart and not her mind. That stubbornness, that stupid stubbornness would one day get her killed if she wasn’t careful.

The worst part was that the more time she spent with him, the more likely that terrible thought could become a reality. 

“No, no, nothing like that.” Emily Strouse responded with a sure tone. Keith pulled his gaze from the pictures on the fridge to watch the conversation unfold. “We did everything together… well most things. She was the jogger, I was more of, well, not.” There was an awkward, breathy chuckle from the woman before Lily continued.

“So she always went on a jog through East Bay Park?”

“Yes, every Sunday and Saturday in the mornings and then after work around six-ish during the week. She prefers it to concrete or a treadmill.” Ms. Strouse hesitated, her dark eyebrows knitting together and her eyes glossy. “Preferred.” 

Lily shifted in her seat to lean towards the woman; with her back to Keith he could only imagine her expression. Keeping his distance Keith listened with intent. He needed to know if JoAnn Strouse strayed even the slightest from her regimen. Someone as active as the victim would be bound to that schedule unless something forced it to change. 

The attack was opportune. If she’d deviated from her routine then she might have planned to meet the assailant but if her regimen went unchanged… 

“When was the last time you saw JoAnn?” Lily inquired drawing the womans attention. 

“Saturday. We’d planned to get lunch at Emidio’s Bistro to talk about a few things.” 

“Like what?” Her interest was peaked; it was subtle, something that he only recognized because she was actually trying to be discreet. And by god he could tell the difference. 

Ms. Strouse shook her head, shaking free a few brown curls; she obviously didn’t think it was important. An embarrassed look thrown downwards caused her pause before she seceded to Lily’s question despite herself. “It’s silly. Just some drama from a date I went on Wednesday night.” 

“If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear about it.” Lily offered in a light tone, pushing her hair away from her face - she always was messing with her hair - before adding, “please, sometimes it’s the smallest detail that helps the most.” Keith turned himself away from the conversation, pretending to busy himself with his phone before stepping further into the connected kitchen. Glancing over the top of his phone his eyes caught a colorful journal laying open on the counter.

A small part of him knew it was crass but the rest of him was convinced that the potential gain far outweighed the possible repercussions. As the sister hesitantly began elaborating Keith thumbed through her personal writings. 

The story he heard was something of a blind date gone horrific; from the sounds of it, even by Keith’s standards the guy set up a pitiful excuse for a date. Hesitating as Lily’s voiced some form of agreement his eyes darted over the entry from last Wednesday. A sentence caught his attention, one that pulled him away from Lily and her interrogation. 

He may very well have found a lead to the answer he’d been looking for.

“Tell me about the dating app.” Keith interjected, raising his voice so that it carried into the other room. Both women twisted to look to him, one with confusion and the other with annoyance. He forced himself to focus on Ms. Strouse, not completely blind to the fact that the only reason Lily didn’t scold him like a child was because of the delicate nature of the interrogation that he likely already ruining in her eyes. 

“But I didn’t say anything about a - ”

“No, but you and your sister used one. What’s it called?” Ms. Strouse clamped her mouth shut before glancing to Lily. For what is was worth the look his partner gave him had simmered into a warning. He’d crossed some line, he was sure, he simply didn’t care to know which one. 

“It’s called **True Connection** and yeah we signed up together last week. That’s how I met - ”

“Did JoAnn have a date with someone on Sunday? Maybe she was meant to meet them at the park or somewhere afterwards?” Lily pressed with a softer touch than Keith could ever have mustered. It was uncanny how she could jump between shooting daggers at him and gently prompting a line of inquiry. 

“Not that I know of. She always goes for her run around that time in the morning.” 

Keith met Lily’s gaze; whatever annoyance gone her eyes widened as the wheels of her mind quickly clicked into place, the implications understood. Maybe it was nothing, a stray detail that simply caught their interest; but both Keith and Lily had seen too much of the impossible to not consider even the most outlandish jump in logic. 

“Thank you, Ms. Strouse. We really appreciate your time and… we’re sorry for your loss.” Lily consoled on both of their behalf, her gaze leaving Keith to address the sister. Emily Strouse stood, confused but thankful as Lily reached out and touched her shoulder.

“Anything to help.” Was all she managed in a softer voice than before.

The rigamarole of wrapping up the interview was a blur as Keith mulled over his thoughts. Trapped somewhere between the present and some far off speculation, Keith was distantly aware than Lily stood beside him as he deliberated the death of JoAnn Strouse.

There was so much more to consider; was the murderer waiting at the park for an opportune moment or had he followed JoAnn Strouse to the park to attack here there? Was JoAnn important at all? Was that particular spot what mattered or was it simply happenstance? No, it’s not a coincidence that all the murders were so concentrated in one part of the park. 

JoAnn had been targeted but, more importantly, that location had been as well. The keystone, as Lily called it. 

It wasn’t until Lily rapped her knuckles against his temple, standing on the tips of her toes and she moved in front of him to get his attention, that he realized that she had been speaking.

“Hey, earth to Keith! I swear it’s like you’ve trained yourself to sleep with your eyes open.” She chidded, knocking one last time against his head before coming to stop in front of him. 

Keith flinched, scrunching his face as he reached up to fix his glasses that had been knocked asqew. 

“You’re such a child.” To that Lily puffed out her slightly reddened cheeks a dangerous sort of sharpness forming in her features. 

“And you were spacing out.”

“I was _thinking_.” He emphasized, allowing his jaw to hang slack for emphasis. He watched as her brow twitched. 

“Without me again.” To that Keith did not attempt to hide it as his eyes rolled. 

“Well yeah. That’s kind of how thinking works. In the head.” A growl of annoyance, one that Keith recognized as lacking hostility yet drowning in aggravation, escaped her throat. Flush in the face and jaw pushed forward, she leaned towards him as her voice lowered.

“A million years of evolution gave you lips for a reason. Use them!” 

Keith blinked without moving, his brows shooting upwards into his hairline. It wasn’t a quite so distant part of his mind that catalogued how she looked in that moment: annoyed, put out, unnecessarily aggressive, and so fully focused on him. It was so typically Lily that it seemed as though she was simply putting on a show to remind him that she was, in fact, the same Lily that called him a homeless drifter when they first met. And again the second time. And likely thought it the third and fourth.

Considering her - _really_ studying her - was like peering into a time capsule of something he’d forgotten he’d hidden away. Ancient, fragile, and nostalgic it took him a long moment to fully understand why and, when he did, it settled uneasily at the pit of his stomach.

It first was like a relic from his past; something old that he’d forced himself to dig up from the layers of dirt and ash that clung to it. Something he’d yearned for the final chapter of, only to find it once again in her eyes.

Then it was something horribly mortal. A realization that no matter how hard he tried the people around him were delicate and so easily crushed by something he’d brought into this world. Just like him, she was very fragile and human; more than anything else he did not want history to repeat.

Finally it all became so terrifyingly _familiar_ that he realized these little outbursts of hers did nothing but confirm her solidarity by his side and legitimize the fear and the guilt he felt. For all that Lily was, be it mildly annoying or simply so stubborn and dense that she sometimes only felt what she wanted to feel, he didn’t think he could part from her despite it all. 

This noble heart of hers was bleeding for him, for Koku and Yuna, for Bran and even someone like Emily Strouse; yet all he could think about was how he reveled in her chiding. In the empathy she held for him.

A compassion he didn’t deserve but would greedily accept in any way that she gave it. 

So when Lily reached up with thin fingers to yank on the long strands of his hair, pulling his millimeters closer to her, he couldn’t fathom how she didn’t realize how close her face was to his. She watched him with such an accusatory intensity that it took him a moment to apprehend the coil that tightened in his chest.

Regaining himself, Keith reached up and poked her in the forehead, two fingers primed to do so again if necessary. Lily yelped in surprise as she rocked back onto the flat of her feet. Staring up at him with wide, incredulous eyes her hand reached up to rub the space on her forehead he’d pressed his fingers too. 

“What the hell was that meant to be?” She was more flustered than annoyed now, he could see the difference as her face flushed a more rosey pink and the muscles around her eyes and jaw loosened.

“A reminder of personal space, shorty.” And just like that her glare was back, her fingers softly pressing into her forehead as though it were a wound to be inspected. Sidestepping her, Keith moved forward at a pace he knew she could match if she really tried. 

“Hey!” As expected she followed closely behind him, her arms now swinging at her side with purpose as she stomped alongside him. “I’m average size for a woman. Not all of us can be freakishly tall.” 

“You just keep telling yourself that.” He mumbled under his breath, smirking to himself when her reaction was visceral and plunged her into a string of comments that he immediately ignored. It was a content moment filled with her voice, one that he didn’t realize he savored until his focus was pulled from her. 

They walked with a rigidness that immediately drew Keith’s attention. Heart sinking and smirk fading he felt his gaze follow the hooded stranger with acute attention; dark coat for cold weather covered their arms and torso along with a hood that was pulled harshly over their head. The darkness that filled the space where their face should be shifted as though to tilt their head in a disturbing acknowledgement, their hands shifting within their bulky jacket pockets.

From across the busy street they watched him and Lily; the world continuing to move around them, it was as though the stranger and Keith were frozen in time. They wanted his attention and now they had it. Keith had half a mind to pull Lily along and leave the creep behind but was stopped as the stranger slowly removed their shaking hand from their bulging pocket.

Without pausing to think Keith reached out to Lily, gripping her shoulder and yanking her aside with a strength that caused her to gasp. Eyes trained on the stranger and Lily pressed behind him Keith could hear his blood pumping in his ears. It was a feral feeling, one that he thought was so uncharacteristic of himself that the unfamiliarity of the guttural reaction reminded him only of one other time in his life. Eight years ago, after he’d discovered what had become of Erika, it was whatever brutalness that instigated his visit to the hospital room of the accused.

But as the shaking hand pulled free from the jacket pocket Keith was relieved yet troubled to find that it held no weapon or device. A short, breathy exhale released from his throat as their hand turned palm up to face him and Lily. A symbol that Keith had grown very familiar with stared at him from across the distance. 

Just like that they were gone. Slipping away as an eighteen wheeler passed between them, horn blaring and hot air rolling off the mammoth machine like a geyser of Hell Keith cursed under his breath. 

“Keith, what do you see?” Lily nearly shouted beside him, her shoulder shaking from what Keith realized must have been adrenaline. Eyes darting along the opposite sidewalk, Keith could not find the figure again. Pressing against his hold almost as though to remind him of her presence, Lily seemed to understand something about the unsaid urgency. 

Her hand gun pulled and her stance lowering her gaze followed his at the disadvantage of not knowing what he was looking for. Keith was unsure how long they stood there, a few moments or maybe a minute as his swiftly beating heart never ceased to press against his ribcage. 

“What’d you see, Keith?” She repeated, her voice low and her eyes not quite trusting enough to look away from the space she’d deemed potentially threatening. Finally releasing his ironclad grip from her shoulder Keith felt his muscles maintain their tension. This was bad.

They were watching them. Both of them.

It seemed that Market Maker was nowhere near finished. Running together in quick succession he considered with heavy tension what this whole act - because that’s what it was - was supposed to prove. Maybe it was just a warning. One that Keith dreaded to think on. The familiar ache of guilt clawed its way up his being, adhering itself to every beat of his heart as he slowly looked to his partner. 

Her gun had been holstered though her left hand still hovered over it, her eyes gazed up at him intently the flush not quite gone from her face. Keith frowned; she looked breathless, and distressed.

“Nothing, I… thought I saw something.” The worry that registered across her features sent another pang of guilt through him. He swallowed it down as best he could, reminding himself that, in the end, it would do her better to not be troubled by old ghosts. Especially now of all times. 

Keith didn’t think that Lily really believed him. He was grateful that any proding question she may have wanted to voice was left to die as she chewed on her lip. They walked with a meaningful pace back to her van eyes still darting around them. The feeling of being watched sent the hair on the nape of his neck on end; Keith matched his pace to hers as though one off step would call the stranger back into being.

He would find a way end this once and for all; eyes flicking to Lily he didn’t miss how she walked nearly double time to keep with his pace, her jaw set and the cords of her neck tense. She was nervous, on edge. He’d finish this without dragging more people like her down with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness. This chapter ended up being a bit shorter than I usually post but I wanted to keep it brief for reasons. I had planned on using Keith's POV sparingly so let me know how you liked this chapter! I had a lot of thoughts (as him? lol) that I lived through while writing this chapter so I had to consolidate a good few of them. Hopefully it didn't come across as quite as much of a cluster fuck as it felt. 
> 
> Hopefully this sparse bit of insight into his psyche was enjoyable! Once again thanks for all the kudos and comments. The pokes give me enough courage to keep going even when I'm uncertain of my writing in that moment. Over 220 hits and 20+ kudos! Hot dog! Thanks all~ I should be starting the next chapter some time soon. <3


	9. Administrator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After leaving Emily Strouses' house for questioning, Keith saw something that Lily did not: a foreboding courier of Market Maker who with only the flash of a hand reminded Keith that the troubles and guilt of his past are far from gone. Now, with nerves fried Keith and Lily make their way to the East Bay Park rangers office in hopes to uncover something - anything - to help them solve the mysteries of the serial murders in the park.

#  Administrator

Fingers tapping against her own arm Lily’s gaze drifted out the window of East Bay Park Rangers office, her eyes scouring the tree line for something to quell the bundle of anxiety she’d held like a brick in her gut since shortly after leaving Emily Strouse’s home. Nothing was there, of course; just the spare young family pushing a pram and afternoon dog walkers. But that didn’t steady her taut nerves.

Maybe it was the way Keith seemed to fight some unseen battle without a word; like a war waging between two amazingly terrible forces that left him nothing more than a distant shell of the person she thought she’d come to know. It was so terrifyingly unfamiliar that Lily could hardly bring herself to look anywhere but away from him during their strained journey to East Bay Park.

Or maybe it was the incessant thudding of her heart that refused to settle until she was behind the locked doors of somewhere familiar and perhaps with a bit of alcohol. Keith had reminded her what it felt like to be at the dire end of a straight; adrenaline filled and aching with tension as the dangerous end of something in the not-so-distant future danced just out of sight. No matter how childish or simply _odd_ it felt she couldn’t ignore her reaction to Keiths’ ferocity.

More likely it was some mixture of the two bundled together and padded with the thick miasma of something she hadn’t even begun to unpack. Something that had been bothering her for weeks yet she could never find the strength to breathe a word of it to life; no matter how much she thought addressing it would uncinch its hold on her like cotton filling the grooves of her ribs, it was becoming suffocating.

The incessant clicking of quick fingers on a keyboard pulled Lily back to the task at hand; the receptionist glancing between Keith and his screen. He was an older, agreeable sort of man dressed in the dark green of the Cremona park rangers. Tempered by his apologetic smile and diligent searching, Lily found herself taking deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. Tension still wrought in her shoulders and neck, the desolation she felt grew more digestible. 

Keith was tapping his foot against the tile floor, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He looked annoyed and somewhat bored - but that was nothing new. As Lily finally allowed herself to look to him, to _really_ check in on him the word that came to mind was weary. Weary and aged beyond his years; his annoyance was like an echo, there but more out of habit than a show of his heart. He looked as strained as Lily felt and the realization cinched in her chest like a noose around her heart. For once she felt that her tension was justified but moreover she hated the notion that he might feel the way she does - hell, it was probably worse for him.

That’s what it took. Forty minutes of silence and palpably thick air and her sudden realization dragged her feet heavily towards reception. His brow twitched as she came to stop beside him but his eyes did not open. When she spoke she was careful to remove the edge sto her voice, looking to the receptionist with as kind an expression as she could muster.

“It was Clay, right? If you can’t find any of the security footage from the last few days, from anywhere in the park, what does your file say is the reason? I mean, this is a huge hole in security.” At his somewhat nervous glance Lily added, “I know it couldn’t have been your doing, I just mean…” At her hesitation Clay pulled away from the computer and cleared his throat.

“I’m real sorry for all this, I know you folks are just tryin’ to do your jobs but I,” Clay tilted the screen so Lily could see it at an odd angle, “well, there’s nothing here. Any onsite digital files have been erased and it looks like our VHS backups are no longer logged as being in storage.” He moved the screen back to its upright position as his lips pulled into a frown. “Short of ripping apart the basement again I can’t think of where else they’d be.” 

“Then where are they logged?” Keiths voice startled Lily. Pressing her lips together she breathed in through her nose as she silently chided herself for being so jumpy. His voice was terse though not completely void of his typical meter and pause. 

Eyes darting back to the computer screen, Clay searched for something before reading it aloud to the pair. “A few VHS’s were taken by the RIS, Inspector Mario Zurita sometime yesterday other than that we haven’t had any requests in - ” Clay’s jaw went slack in a moment of lost composure before he snapped it shut and readjusted himself in his seat. “Oh, well that’s new. It looks like someone recalled all footage about… forty-five minutes ago?” 

“Who?” Both Lily and Keith voiced in tandem causing Clay to glance between them with raised brows.

“Well, it seems to have been done by the _Administrator_.” 

The silence that followed was palpable, radiating between Lily, Keith, and the poor receptionist like steam from a boiling kettle before something clicked. Eyes widening as a sharp breath escaped her, the adrenaline pulsed through Lily at an unhealthy pace. Reaching for her phone she realized, not for the first time that day, that it was dead. Cursing under her breath, she looked up to Keith expectantly.

He hesitated, not because he didn’t understand her unsaid request but more likely because of the heavy skepticism that radiated off of him. After a brief pause, Keith aquessed his phone, dragging his gaze from her with great difficulty before returning his attention to Clay.

Turning from the both of them, Lily vaguely heard Keith as he began questioning the receptionist once again; she quickly flipped through his contacts before dialing the number she was looking for. It rang for all of three seconds before the familiar voice answered.

“Hey, Keith, what’s up?”

“It’s me Bran, I have a quick question.” Bran muffled a surprised Oh! But otherwise waited for her to elaborate. “Earlier we were talking about that information you were putting together for the commander and I think I saw something that might help us. Can you explain what the _Administrator_ is?” 

There’s a heavy pause as Bran presumably busies his hands with something before answering. His voice was unsure and slow as though trying to comprehend her meaning.

“Like the admin of a system?”

“No, like in your data! Code for something, it was highlighted near the input of finances somewhere around the middle of your doc.” 

“Oh! Right, one sec.” The sound of Bran’s distant clicking of keys was echoed by Clay as he seemed to be explaining something to Keith. Glancing over her shoulder Lily caught Keith’s gaze; sharp, annoyed, and tense Lily wondered if he had the same realization that she had. She’d remembered seeing something in Bran’s paperwork, something coded as the _Administrator_ but for the love of her sanity she couldn’t think of what it meant. 

“Lily?” 

“Yeah, I’m here.” She mumbled, turning her gaze from Keith.

“It looks likes the term _Administrator_ is used for a couple of things. I’ll have to take a look at my case files to be sure.” 

“What’s the first time it’s used?” She pressed, biting her lip as she waited for his response.

“Uh,” Bran hesitates before clearing his throat, “looks like it’s referencing the Royal Police in this section, but!” He pauses again this time with a much more urgent purpose before continuing. “About fifteen pages later it’s used again to reference the RAFP. Lily, I don’t know what you think it’s meant to be but I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions yet. I’ll take a look and then call you back.” Bran sneezed before adding. “I mean, before I call Keith back.” 

Lily thanked her friend with crunched brows before hanging up. Turning back to her partner and the receptionist she wondered why the term _Administrator_ had referred to both the Royal Police force and the Royal Academy of Firefighter Preparations. Wouldn’t that be counter intuitive to coding speech or writing? Giving something the same name is meant to imply a connection but the two entities are quite different, if not simply government agencies. 

“You can’t think of any reason why some _Administrator_ would have wanted them all?” Lily was brought back to the present by Keith’s deadpanned exasperation. 

“Confiscation, probably.” Clay commented, his voice lilting curiously as though he too had just had a thought. “I reckon it’s on account of the murders and such, but I would’ve thought you folk would have known all about that if that were the case. Oh! Looky here.” 

Lily furrowed her brow further as Clay, somewhat excitedly, leaned into his screen. Keith dropped his gaze from the receptionist to catch her eye. As his expression questioned her use of his phone she simply shrugged in response considering that she’d not come to an conclusive end. 

“And, um, all future tapes are meant to be sent to the Palace by 5:00 pm.” Clay announced proudly, his mouth turning upwards despite the difficulty of their situation. The Palace? Why in the world would they be sent _there_ of all places?

Lily watched Keith’s expression shift, his gaze drifting over his shoulder and upwards. It took Lily a surprising long time to realize that her partner stared earnestly at the security camera as it was trained on the pair of them blinked lazily as it twisted slowly towards them. The security camera paused on the front desk, watching attentively; a machine of far more advanced technology than all of the security and computer systems the Rangers had to work with, it seemed oddly out of place once Keith had pointed it out. 

“Those sons of - ” Lily murmured as Keith pressed his elbow into her, a sharp reminder to keep composure. Mouth clamped shut she refrained from that train of thought. 

“Do me a favor, Clay.” Keith started again, his voice taking on a lower register as he leaned into the desk; his towering height seemed to affect Clay, who leaned backwards as his eyes locked onto her partner. “Next time, when you’re late on a delivery to the Palace, take a second to get a good look at who they send to pick it up.”

Clay hesitated, his mouth bobbing open before shutting abruptly. As his eyes drifted to Lily she felt the need to straighten herself, nodding sternly as though to bolster Keith’s words. 

“Sure, uh, I’m not always on duty but I guess I could ask the others to pay attention for ya.” Sharing a quick look with her partner, Lily couldn’t help but feel pleased at his quick thinking. Of course, they’d send someone to pick up the tapes if the Rangers missed their deadline. She wondered with a wicked smirk which division would be eventually chewed out for this. Who were the ones blocking their access to the tapes? There’d be hell to pay if Commander Toga had anything to say about it.

It wasn’t until Lily had situated herself back in the driver’s seat of her car that her elation ran its course, leaving her to pause with both hands on the wheel. What the hell was going on today? Hell, what was going on in general?

“You good?” Glancing over to Keith Lily realized that’d she’d zoned out; her vision blurring for a moment as she had unfocused from all things around her. He looked to her from the side of his glasses hesitantly; almost as though just the thought of asking made him uncomfortable. 

She couldn’t help the snort that escaped without her permission, forcing the smallest of smiles to press into her cheeks despite herself. Letting her hands drag down the steering wheel, Lily leaned back into her seat. “Good? Don’t know about that. Today’s been a bit _hectic_.” Breathing out her nose, she briefly paused. “I mean, what the hell happened outside of Emily Strouses’ house? I half expected to see Koku flying around tearing someone apart again. It was… terrifying to think of.” 

The raw surprise of emotion that crossed his features was quickly covered up by his familiar irritable look. Coupled with a vocalized _tch_ , she thought his reaction was far too guarded for her to have been completely wrong. He thought he saw something, too. Even the way he’d grabbed her had filled the space between them with enough of an understanding that she hadn’t needed to hear him speak to know the extent of his fear. 

In reading him in that moment Lily had pulled her gun. That wasn’t a normal response to normal problems; no, that was the energy you feel when dealing with the types of supernatural things seemingly only her and him had dealt with. But instead of responding to what she saw as something obvious between them he simply sighed before pulling his glasses from his face.

Rubbing the lenses against the bottom of his shirt he looked just as tired as she felt. And she hadn’t even eaten lunch yet. 

“I shouldn’t have overreacted like that.” He offered in a low voice. Glasses still in hand as his head turned to met her gaze. There was something terribly intimate about his tone and the look he gave her; something that she felt herself react to in a way that was against her better judgement. “I’m sorry for scaring you but it’s good to know you’d have my back if things got bad.” 

Brown eyes wide and heart working hard to stay steady, Lily watched as he settled his glasses back against his nose; and not for the first time did she quietly admit to herself that he was handsome in a scruffy, tired sort of way. 

Not at all what she had been expecting as a response, Lily turned her gaze downwards, tangling her fingers together in her lap. _Hectic_ didn’t even begin to describe the inexplicable roller coaster of emotions that today had thrown her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends, long time no see! So sorry about the wait it was not planned but it quickly became evident that I wouldn't be able to focus on my last semester of credential work and give the focus I'd want to writing as well as my personal life. It sucked, I was consistently exhausted, and I thirsted to do creative things. Anyway, that's just about finished (very soon!) and now that I have a chance to breath I can jump back into writing again. I've already started on the next chapter so it should be a pretty quick turn around for chapter 10 ^_^
> 
> Thanks for the patience, I looked forward during my long nights of studying and working to getting back to writing regularly. Peace!


	10. Intuition

#  Intuition 

Bran sputtered, nearly drowning himself with his soda, a terribly odd croak escaped his throat and, at the sound, he chortled in his recovery. Lily laid her head in her arms to contain her mirth as much to shield her embarrassment. Once his chuckles had mostly subsided along with the sparse coughing to clear his lungs of the sugary liquid he asked, once more, the question that had wrought him in such a state in the first place. 

“Wait, your ID is at someone else's house or your house?” Lily pressed her head into her arms for a moment longer than necessary, sighing into the birch wood of the cafeteria table as she wondered to herself how in the world had she allowed this conversation to take such a devastating turn. Lifting herself to sit at her full height she met her friends gaze with a surprisingly straight face considering she had watched him choke on Pepsi not twenty seconds before. She could fix this.

“My house. I just figured,”

“But you said your mother _couldn’t_ bring it to you… because it wasn’t there.” 

“Right, but what I meant by it was that she wouldn’t know where to find it.” Lily retorted with as much, if not more, poignancy as Bran had mustered in his accusation. His eyes narrowed, bringing the straw to his lips. She knew Bran. This was Bran when he thought he was onto something; some form of intuition - as he called it. She was more worried about him choking again than him finding anything out. Lily’s brows knitted together, _not that there’s even anything to find out._

“Are you seeing someone?” 

This time it was Lily’s turn to sputter; words not quite forming she struggled in denying his accusation with the grace she had hoped for. Lips pressed firmly together, Lily gathered herself.

“Why is that your first assumption?” She bolstered, feeling as well as hearing how defensive she sounded. Bran simply set down his drink dangerously close to his new laptop.

“You didn’t deny it.” He pointed out, scratching his cheek absently as his eyes scanned the booths around them. “There’s nothing wrong with it, I just figured you’d come out and tell me instead of making me put the pieces together like a cop.” 

Lily glanced away at the disappointment that tinged his voice. She didn’t like making him feel that way and this, most definitely, was not the reason she’d invited him to have lunch with her. 

“Bran, you’d be one of the first people I’d tell if something like that happened.” He looked to her, lips pursed and eyes lingering expectantly. “Alright, _the_ first person I’d tell. But I’m not seeing anyone, so there’s nothing to tell.” Lily offered earnestly. 

Watching her, likely to see if she’d falter in her response, Bran _hmm_ ed before bringing a forkful of his pasta to his mouth and eating it. Now Lily watched him as he mulled over his thoughts; Bran leaned back in his chair, slinging one arm over the back before swallowing.

“That’s a shame then.” 

“What?” Bran sighed, raking his free hand through his sand colored hair, his eyes catching something on the ceiling. 

“I was kind of excited for a second there, I thought, you know: Oh, Lily’s got someone now, that’s great! You know, someone who can keep up with you, check in and stuff. Would have made me feel a bit better and all.” Lily scrunched her face, looking at her friend as though he suddenly started speaking in tongues. If Bran noticed her reaction, he hid it well; instead, he continued. “I guess that came out weird. I just meant that this is a stressful job, you know? I was happy to think that you’d found someone who had your back.” 

“I have a lot of people who ‘have my back.’ You for one.” Lily commented, finally finding her voice; but Bran simply shook his head. 

“I mean, yeah you got me there. But you also know that’s not really what I meant.” Looking quite lazy in his reclined position, he reached out absently to flip open his laptop. Lily watched on with pink tinted cheeks, unsure of how she was meant to respond.

It’d been a few years since Lily had dated anyone in meaningful way. Of all things she thought she would be discussing with Bran she hadn’t thought it’d be this. So, instead of instigating that line of thinking further, she changed the subject. 

“Speaking of having your back, how’re you recovering?” If Mario had been around Lily knew exactly what Bran’s response would have been; something positive yet dismissive that led everyone to believe the question was unnecessary. Bran drew his gaze away from his computer, shrugging with one shoulder. 

“Doing alright, I guess. Was really lucky but, uh,” he hesitated, fingers hovering over the keys of his keyboard before they slowly came to rest atop them. He chewed on the inside of his cheek before sighing. “I don’t know. I feel fine, like physically, but sometimes it’s different.” 

Lily frowned, her fingers gnawing against her the inside of her palms. She wanted to reach across the table to ground him as he had grounded her just the other day; but his body language was becoming more and more closed off the longer they dwelled on the subject. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” 

To that he raised his eyes to meet hers, his lips pressed into a thin line. In place of more words she managed a small smile before reaching across the table to take up the print outs he’d brought for her. 

“Thanks for all this, by the way. I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve done something, just the two of us.” Bran scoffed lightheartedly, his fingers picking up pace across his keyboard once again. 

“Mario would be pissed. Well, maybe not. It’s not like we went out drinking without him again.” 

“Oh, he hated that!” Lily grinned widely. For the last fifteen minutes of their lunch Lily enjoyed chatting with Bran and listening to a few new songs he had discovered over their few week break apart. When it was time to go, Lily took the bundle of papers under her arm before skipping off to her desk, Bran tearing off from their regular path to run a few errands of his own.

Flitting through the papers Lily spent the time remaining highlighting the mentions of an _Administrator_ , taking notes in her flipbook before filing away the copy Bran had gifted her. A few hours of that and making case notes was more than enough to thoroughly run her ragged. She was set to leave early and good work ethics be damned, she felt exhausted. By the time she’d gathered all her things Bran had entered the bullpen and was able to wave her goodbye alongside Boris. Squeezing past Commander Toga as he intensely spoke on the phone with someone Lily distantly wondered where Mario was, not having seen him since that morning.

Realization shrugged off, Lily drove without second thought to Keith’s apartment. Music blaring loudly and fingers tapping against the steering wheel her mind was far from here by the time she parked and skipped up the stairs to his home. It was familiar seeing the number plate of room 502 as she reached out and twisted the handle. 

But it didn’t budge. 

Frowning, Lily reached up and rapped against the wooden door, waiting a long few moments before repeating the gesture. When there was no answer come the third knock, Lily reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone with the intents to call Keith before realizing for the third time that day that her phone was dead and - on top of that - the phone she held _was_ Keith’s phone. 

Groaning Lily pressed his phone to her forehead, eyes closed as she stifled an exasperated sigh. Today was beyond the strangest day ever; well, she hesitated sticking Keith’s phone back into her pocket before retrieving her wallet from her RIS jacket, at least in a domestic sense. 

Fishing around she pulled out her library card, glancing down the hallway in both directions before kneeling in front of his door and getting to work triggering the mechanism. It’d been a while since Lily had last practiced this particular skill and she realized with some level of smugness that it was impressive how quickly the tumblers gave way. It was then that she allowed herself a self-congratulatory grin.

Pressing open the door, Lily quickly entered his apartment before sealing it behind her and making herself at home. It occurred to her as she settled down on the tweed couch that she probably could have called Koku or Yuna to come open the door but quickly shook away the thought as she kicked off her boots. 

With a little less than an hour to spare before Keith was likely to return home Lily hummed to herself as she lazily cleaned up the spot she had stolen last night in her sleepy stupor. Folding a few blankets and patting down a single pillow was hardly a chore though it got her wondering if she should have driven back home first to grab her phone charger. Oh well.

With a shrug Lily moved into the kitchen with the intents of laying out her notes on the kitchen table. Her satchel felt heavy with paperwork and, as she began organizing it for reference, she found herself distracted by a few small drawings she’d made prior to her vacation. They were cute but taking up space in her otherwise stuffed bag. Tossing the crumpled up papers she wasn’t surprised as the paper rolled to a stop nearly half a meter from the waste paper basket. 

Pausing her organizing, she moved to throw her crumbled papers away properly but hesitated as she saw a neat note in Yuna’s handwriting addressing Keith. Glancing over to the front door, Lily bent over and read the note in the most nosey of fashions.

_Keith,_  
Thanks for the new key but Koku found the other spare you’d  
Made me in his jacket pocket.  
I’m not sure what you want to do with it but here it is!  
Yuna

Lily blinked at the note, twisting the corner of it in thought. Whatever line of reasoning she was about to have was cut short as the creaking of the front door caused her to drop the note back into the wastebasket. Turning with a swift beating heart her eyes widened to see Keith, gun in hand, a dire and dangerous expression marring his features.

Letting out a squeak that she was not proud of, Lily jumped to put her hands up; she took a step back but was stopped by the counter against her hip. The moment of recognition that passed over his face did nothing to quell the quickness of her heart as he cursed under his breath, turning the gun downwards, his finger pulled to rest safely along the length of his pistol. His eyes darted around his apartment, searching for anything that would have been out of place and, when he seemed satisfied that they were alone, he released a shaky breath. 

“Holy crap, Lily. What the _hell_ were you thinking?” He asked in a strained voice as his shoulders tightened uncomfortably. He once again looked away from her, his jaw jutting out as though he struggled to compose himself. Clicking the safety into place he reholstered his weapon, still not looking to his partner. “You can’t just go breaking into my apartment, you’ll give me a freaking heart attack.” 

Hands rising to clasp over her mouth and eyes wide she simply nodded; the look on his face brought more guilt upon Lily than she could bare to acknowledge. Keith entered his home, pulling the door shut behind him as he strode to her not unlike a bulldog in his posture or the swiftness of his steps. He no longer looked uncertain, now he looked _angry_. Not that Lily could really blame him; maybe she had gone too far. Maybe _this_ was where the line of their partnership was drawn. 

“Keith, I - ”

But Lily was cut off by a close line of an embrace as his arm encircled over the top of her shoulder and down her back, his fist squeezed closed as it pressed harshly into the bottom of her rib cage. In a moment he was all encompassing. In a moment, Lily felt herself be pressed further against the counter. And in a moment of surprise her arms were trapped, shoved against his chest as his chin dipped down to rest his forehead against the top of her head; his purposefully slow breathes tickling and displacing her hair while he held her in place.

For all that her and Keith had been through together it was still a strange turn of events from all other possibilities Keith could have indulged in. For someone who had always been so distant emotionally, Lily was stunned at the raw sentiment of his actions. It was as though he thought that if he were to release her, she would simply cease to exist. 

So it was with a sharp exhale of bewilderment that Lily found herself pressing further into his embrace.

Eyes closed she breathed in a surprisingly shaky breath as she tilted her forehead to rest against his collarbone. It’d been an embarrassingly long time since someone had simply held her and she was somewhat ashamed to admit, even in the sanctity of her own mind, that she was thankful for the misunderstanding that had brought on this overflow of emotion from Keith. 

When he finally pulled away, his warmth immediately missed, Lily hesitated to meet his gaze; instead she waited for her syncopated heart to calm as she took a peculiar interest in the dirt on his work shoes.

A heartbeat later he took a step back causing Lily to finally looked up to him, finding that even with the space created he still felt entirely closer than ever before. 

“I’m sorry, Keith, I didn’t think - ”

“No, you really didn’t.” His voice sounded more exhausted than angry; the aggression of his body language completely forgotten in place for something else entirely. Taking off his glasses for the second time that day he roughly rubbed the palm of his hand against his eyes socket, his fingers tangling in his hair. “I thought you were someone else and it scared the shit out of me.” He was almost candid in the way he said it before adjusting his glasses back where they belonged. 

_Did he... did he think I was Erika?_ Lily found herself thinking, disappointment and confusion causing her to swallow thickly. It didn’t really make sense. The look on his face when he entered his apartment looked like he was ready to kill, so why would he assume Erika was the one in his home? Lily shook her head of the thought. 

“I’m sorry.” She repeated, causing the corner of his lip to quirk downwards. 

“Yeah, you’ve said that already.” he mumbled, reaching past Lily to the counter she’d been pressed against only a few minutes ago; when he coiled his arm back he held out a dish towel. Lily looked from Keith to the dark blue and white cloth before hesitantly taking it from him still unsure of his reasoning. Did he wanted her to do the dishes as an apology? 

When she twisted to look at the empty dish drain she heard him sigh, annoyed. 

“For the love of…” He started, cutting himself off before snatching the dish towel from her hands and gently patting the round plane of her cheek. It surprised Lily so much that she simply watched him with wide, saucer-like eyes as he moved from one cheek to the other. When he finished he took a few more steps away, breaking Lily of the spell he’d placed her under and drawing her attention to the reddening coloration of his face. It was subtle and he hid it well as he threw the dish towel on the kitchen table, displacing a few of her papers. “You’re absolutely hopeless.” She heard him say before glancing down at his watch, his back now fully facing her. 

As though guided by some unseen force he excused himself from her presence without another word, striding with long steps out of the kitchen and down the hall leading to his room. 

Lily stood, hands clasped together and eyes blinking after him unsure how to unpack all that had just occurred. It took a few moments of silence before somewhere on the other end of the apartment she head a door shut. Reaching up to wipe under her eyes she felt the remains of a wetness that she wouldn’t have known was there had he not drawn her attention to it. She brushed away any that remained, Keith not having done a terribly good job at removing the tears that no doubt had stained her cheeks. 

Unsure as to _why_ she’d lost control, it was surprising to her that his reaction had coaxed such a response out of her. Perhaps it was simply the stress of the day and the lack of another’s touch or maybe it was that she feared for her life not a few minutes before. But even as she thought the latter, Lily shook herself of the thought. The fear she harbored had not been that Keith would shoot her, she analyzed introspectively. The fear she felt was the ache of horror that someone else had been in the apartment with her, someone that in Keith’s mind was alarming enough to pull his gun in preparation of the worst. 

Eyes flicking down the corridor Keith had disappeared to, Lily finally moved away from the counter in hopes to clean her face of the dismay she felt. Feet taking her to the open restroom a few strides away she wondered what, other than his door being unlocked, had caused Keith such anxiety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! This has been fun to get back into, if not a tad exhausting in its own right. I'm happy to say that, because of this break from work, I'm a few chapters ahead from where I'm at in posting; I still want to give myself a chance to edit with fresh eyes so I'll be spacing the publishing of chapters a bit. ^_^ Hope you all enjoyed it! Seeing all your comments really inspires me to keep going. Until next time, 
> 
> Peace!


	11. And What a Fool She Was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After breaking and entering into Keith's apartment, Lily shares with Kieth the information on the Administrator all the while feeling like a fool.

# And What a Fool She Was 

### 

Chapter 11 

Lily felt the fool.

Staring into her own reflection she realized that the exhaustion she felt from the days transgressions shown plainly across her face. 

Absolutely a _fool_.

Unable to maintain eye contact with herself Lily sighed through her nose before turning on the water and dipping her hands beneath it. It was a soothing motion, one done thousands of times before and so mechanical that she could lose herself to her thoughts without much resistance.

Keith hadn’t thought she was Erika, he was much more… logical than that; no, it was Lily’s own fixation with her commonalities with his sister that caused that thought to flood her mind. Even though her partner had no way of knowing what she had thought, she couldn’t quell the hot embarrassment that crawled its way up her neck. 

The alarm that had marred his form was something much more set in the _present_ and Lily felt the absolute fool for not realizing it then and there.

Of course it had been Market Maker on his mind or, if not the organization then some trepidation connected to them. Hell, didn’t he earlier that day yank her aside like a doll as though the world was crashing down around them? 

Splashing cool water on her face Lily let her hands rest over eyes eyes. The water filtered through spaces between her fingers as she thought on that; _really_ considered the possibility that Market Maker could be back in her life already. The emotions that rose to the surface were too much for her to address.

Scrubbing her face until she felt slightly raw, Lily dried herself before lifting her chin and meeting her own gaze once again. 

They got through it before, they could get through it again. 

Lily didn’t know what to expect when she finally emerged from the restroom of Keith’s apartment. So she was mildly embarrassed to see him leaning over the kitchen table his eyes lazily drifting across her notes. She hesitated for only a moment, her gaze leveling on her partner before pressing towards him with sure steps. 

Stopping a fair distance away from him Lily looked over the table to see that he’d most assuredly rummaged through her things. It irked Lily only in the slightest that the action probably came with no hesitation, but she was tempered by the fact that she’d technically broken into his apartment just an hour before. Perhaps the boundaries were becoming blurred on both sides, she considered with pursed lips. 

Keith met her contemplative stare with his languid gaze; lids half mast, he glanced down at her in a slow, controlled motion. With lingering focus she wasn’t completely oblivious to the way he searched her expression. 

Embarrassment forgotten, Lily raised a single brow and gave him a once over of her own. Lily was unsure what exactly he was looking for or if he found it come the moment he finally looked away, but there was something strangely sobering about the gesture.

In the end it was Keith who broke the silence. Posture slouched in a way that would have made Lily’s mother titter in annoyance, he shifted one hand into his slacks pocket. 

“You found the mentions of the _Administrator_.” He stated evenly, eyes pulling back to the papers before taking up the bundle Bran had gifted her earlier that day. Pushing away from the table his shoulders hunched and back curled slightly, Keith still stood a considerable height above Lily as he flipped a few pages backwards as though to review some important detail. “That title is mentioned for eleven different agencies. It’s strange that the same word is used for so many different groups.” 

“That’s what I thought.” Lilly offered, knitting her brow together as she stretched herself taller to glance at the papers. Sensing her strain, Keith lowered his hand so the papers were easier for her to view. There was a lull in their already sparse conversation as they both scanned the page. 

“It’s all government agencies.” There’s no hesitancy in his voice as one would expect from someone who’d just realized something; instead his tone was pointed - _accusatory_. 

“This is the Royal Financial Reserve and then this one’s the Royal Parks and Recreations and then on this page it mentions the Royal Police.” He shifts the pages, his voice lowering slightly as his finger dashed from highlighted section to highlighted section. “But I think it’s more than that.” 

Lily nodded, decidedly ignoring the sour tone his words had taken; instead her eyes scanned the paper between them before glancing back up to his face. She watched as his hooded gaze held steady on the page; it was an analytical stare, one where the mind moved forward while the other senses were left behind. She watched him, enthralled by the process of his mind he allowed to show so plainly across his face. Had it always been so obvious? Lily didn’t remember thinking so when they first met.

Realizing that she was staring, Lily glanced down at the pile of paperwork her partner had disrupted. 

“If it’s government related,” Lily started, agreeing with his assertion, “it’s odd that the tapes would be sent to the Palace, right? The heads of the agencies are at the heart of the capitol; the Palace is simply - ” 

From the corner of her eye she saw Keith’s head twist to look to her. Though no words escaped him immediately Lily silenced herself from the sheer intensity of his movements before meeting his gaze once again. 

“It’s the home of the royal family.” He finished for her, his features consolidating in a becoming way as he regained control. Eyes darting aside in deep thought; he dropped the bundle of papers back onto the table as he stepped away. Keith paced with one hand running through the mess of hair on the top of his head. “The _Administrator_ isn’t the government, it’s the royal family. They’re in everything, it’s known that they’ve aided Market Maker recently, but… To tamper with our investigation in such an _inept_ way - ” 

“The royal family.” Lily repeated incredulously, not really meaning to interrupt Keith completely. It was hard to focus as he twisted to look over his shoulder, catching her eyes with his. Even as the words left her lips she knew that Keith was likely correct. She understood little about the family themselves but their pull was unrivaled within Cremona; what was perplexing was _why_ they wanted the tapes. Surely they weren’t trying to solve it themselves? They must realize that they’d be hindering the RIS in doing so. It was then that she truly connected what Keith was saying, her jaw dropping as her fingernails bit into her palms.

“It’s too easy.” Keith mumbled to himself, not fully addressing Lily as much as the air around him. A deep frown etched along the edges of his lips as his tone turned acridic. “It’s _too obvious_ , there has to be something else - something that they don’t want us to see.” 

Pressing the palm of his hand into the tangle of hair on his head Keith wavered in place, his gaze trained on nothing and his jaw set tightly. Had Lily not known Keith as well as she did, she’d think him somewhat terrifying in that moment. Eyes piercing, surly, and all together appearing wrathful; his body language reflected the sentiment of a coiled spring ready to strike, the trigger nothing more than a step too close in proximity.

But Lily _did_ know him. And his anger was not something that originated from her but rather the shaking annoyance of information still unknown to him. To Keith, Lily suddenly realized, it was obvious that someone was toying with him. And that royally pissed him off. 

Of all the situations she’d been in with Keith in the last few months she had no idea how to console him; even if he was consolable, maybe it was better allow him to run his course? Doing or saying something could be nothing more than hindering the thought process that Commander Toga coveted so dearly. 

But then Lily remembered the fonder way he’d come to speak to her. In the more recent months her tidings had been treated more on equal ground than ever before. It was the nuanced manner that Keith expressed that her ideas - her intelligence - were all wanted. Even if sometimes she annoyed the ever living daylights out of him. So it was with that last thought that Lily pushed herself forward, eyes trained on him as she marched across the kitchen to meet him. 

Gaze intense and commanding of his attention, Lily bore herself into his vision, forcing him to see her. Maybe it was her proximity - she didn’t dwell on it as she stepped well into his personal space - or maybe it was the fire she felt burning in her chest that sparked behind her eyes like the ignition of some great and terrible beauty but the effect that her presence had on him caused her heart to beat in excited syncopation. 

In that moment of surprise she spoke to him with such a clear authority that even she was amazed by her gall.

“We’ll deal with all that tomorrow. Keith, we’re tired and we’ll need more than just you - just us - to see the bigger picture. You need to relax, you need to _stop_ for tonight because you’re going to run us both ragged if you run off and start working on this now.” He did not move away from her, his chin still tilted down as though she had always been the focus of his attention and, with the minute flinch at her words, she confirmed that he _had_ been planning on running out to do God knows what in the middle of the night. “First thing tomorrow let’s bring this to the others. Only the RIS.” She added when his brow twitched and his lips parted to reveal his bottom teeth. “I know Bran is compiling data and Mario is focusing on leads for the gold drug distribution, let’s get their input first.” 

When she ran out of words to say, she felt her chest heave slightly at the weight that had been lifted from it. She felt flush and exhilarated at the singular focus she had not only obtained from Keith but also maintained. He was stunned, eyes moving across the planes of her face as though looking for some wavering part of her that he could grasp onto, but Lily felt confident in her stance as she tilted her chin upwards as though to meet his appraisal. 

It was then with unflinching resolve that she was met by his breathy chuckle; Lily felt his sigh as it rushed over her forehead and down her nose, her eyelashes blinking away the feeling. For the second time that day Lily felt her chest constrict against her better judgement, the air around them heavy and encumbering. A long few moments passed filled with silence as Lily gazed up at Keith, his lids closing as he removed his glasses to press his thumb and forefinger in the ducts of his eyes; more akin to having been awoken in the dead of the night than in the mists of an intense conversation. 

For all the resolve she had mustered this was a task befitting a different kind of determination. Looking to him, realizing how close they stood, and observing the drawn out motions of her partner Lily came to understand something about herself that she’d previously sequestered away. 

Standing so close that she could feel his breath, so close that he was all that she could see, and so close that her heart violently stuttered against her chest; she was no fool but she was sure acting as one. 

But what was more astounding to Lily than her damning introspection was that, as his eyes opened and his gaze connected with hers, Keith did nothing to separate them further. Instead, Lily felt a breath escape his lips with a low _tch_ before his hand raised and two fingers gently pressed her square in the forehead. “Fine, jeez.” He muttered in a voice that, if there had been others around, would have only been heard by Lily. Frozen in place, her brow rose into her hairline as her gaze darted between meeting his languorous stare and his hand. “Under one condition.” 

“What’s that?” Lily could feel the warmth as it rose to ignite her skin at the rapidness of her own response. If Keith could sense the battle roaring just beneath her surface he did nothing to acquiesce. 

“You get dinner tonight.” He responded with a purposeful scrutiny of her expression before taking a single step backwards, his fingers removing from her skin. “Since, as you said, I’m not allowed to leave my own house.” 

Lily gaped after him unable to ignore the ache of disappointment at his condition. With burning cheeks caused by the fact that she was _not_ ready to consider what answer she had been hoping for, Lily slammed her mouth shut and crossed her arms. 

“Fine, but I get to choose what we eat.” She managed with a relatively steady voice, considering. Chiding countenance unhidden and unabashed Keith scowled at Lily before moving to plop himself on his sofa; but otherwise he seemed to give in. Though, if Lily were to really compare his reaction to that of even a few weeks ago she would categorize his response as lukewarm, exhausted, and lacking of any spirit. 

Lily chalked that one up as a win in her book, but at what cost to her heart rate?

Unsteady heart tempered by a deep and even breath, Lily moved with new conviction to swipe Keith’s phone from the kitchen table, set to dial her favorite pizzeria. In the end, Lily decided as she dialed the number from memory, it was probably best if she didn’t think too much on these new developments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, here's our latest update. I had my wisdom teeth taken out ( _all_ of them) so I was out of commission for a bit longer than I expected after having finished college. Woop woop. I admit that it's been hard to sit and write with the pain, I had originally planned to have much more done but hadn't really expected to be this messed up by the surgery lol oh well. I rewatched the series to fill in a few gaps of my memory and reread my own story in the meantime.
> 
> Here's to me chugging along through the next chapter with my pain medication! Hope you all enjoyed, thanks for the kudos and comments they keep me going. <3


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